Vandals attack Scarborough's famous water chute, sending the boat plunging into the lake and sinking it

The visitor attraction's water chute boat was unshackled overnight, sending it rolling into the lake at Northstead Manor Gardens.

Because the team removes the boat's plugs at night in case they are taken, the boat sank into the water.

Staff have had to bail out water this morning to bring the boat back to the surface.

As reported by The Scarborough News, yobs kicked out Covid-19 safety screens from one of the train carriages when it was parked at the attraction last Sunday night.

Vandals attack Scarborough's North Bay Railway, kicking out the Covid-safety screens on a train

Operations Director at the railway David Fardoe said: "It's not the kind of thing we expect first thing on a Monday morning.

"Last week we had the screens knocked out of the carriages. That moved onto having youths giving our customers verbal abuse as they were getting off the train at Scalby Mills.

"And then we've moved onto having this last night.

"Unfortunately for those that were doing it last night, it was all caught on camera so I'll be passing that onto police this morning."

He said the team were hoping to have the water chute up and running ready for this morning's opening.

"I would appeal for people who live locally just to know where your children are on a night. North Bay Railway has become a bit of a playground," said Mr Fardoe.

"It's not a place to play around on. It can be quite dangerous. There's lots of hazards around the site. That's why we've got a fence around the site - to keep people out.

"It's also illegal to go on the track bed. Another report I had in the week was of some people on the track up near Scalby Mills."

The railway - which had to shut because of the pandemic - is planning to open every day through September.

He urged anyone who sees anyone acting suspiciously in the area to call police via 101.

The video shows David Fardoe explaining what happened.

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