POPULAR local attraction The Perrygrove Railway, on Bream Road, Coleford, now has a new owner: Mr David Nelson.

David moves on from the job of Operations Manager to full owner, having taken on the business from the founders Michael and Frances Crofts, and he will be helped in his new position by his fiance, Katherine.

Michael Crofts commented: "When my wife and I bought Perrygrove Farm in 1993 it was just a derelict smallholding. The windows of the farmhouse were falling out, and all the other buildings were in an appalling state – one of them fell down a few weeks after we bought the property.

'We were granted planning permission in 1994 and built the railway from scratch using local contractors. We then opened in 1996 with one steam engine, one diesel and three carriages.

"Since then is has been very successful, with visitor numbers rising every year for the past ten years. We are now going to retire, but will continue living at Perrygrove. We are very lucky that we have such enthusiastic young people to take the business over, and we will continue to enjoy seeing the trains go by our back garden."