Ian's hero award

Things run on time when Ian Latimer is around – and now the man who has been station master at Arley for the Severn Valley Railway during the past 25 years is today hailed an Express & Star Local Hero.

Ian is one of scores of volunteers helping get the railway up and running again after this year's devastating floods.

He has won an individual award for his efforts, and another award was today given to the Severn Valley Railway as a whole for its heroic response to the flooding, which has left it with a £2.5 million repair bill.

The Express & Star Local Heroes Awards, now in their third year and sponsored by Birmingham Midshires and Wolverhampton Wanderers, will culminate with a celebrity lunch at Molineux in December.

Ian, aged 62, said: "I am delighted to accept the award on behalf of the station as everything we do is very much as part of a team."

Because of flood damage to the track in June and July, the trains have been running only between Kidderminster and Bewdley.

Far from allowing Ian and his fellow helpers to take life easy, this time has been used by them to do vital drain and line clearance work and Ian has even been helping paint the station so that it will be looking its best for visitors when it fully reopens. In his working life Ian imports and manufactures soft toys and teddy bears, supplying charities and tourist information centres in towns and cities throughout the country.

Ian, who is also a local magistrate, said: "Here at Arley we are almost turning back the clock and showing people what the station would have been like in the 30s and 40s."