Bedfordshire pub railway 'could be the last of its kind in Britain'

• Watch a report by ITV News Anglia's Stuart Leithes

It's a tiny, tiny train ride in Bedfordshire which could be the country's only surviving pub garden miniature railway.

The volunteers who run the railway at the Fancott public house in the village near Luton have kept it going despite having to close the visitor attraction during the pandemic.

They had been running reliable passenger services on the line for more than 45 years until Covid caused a major disruption to the timetable.

Ron Stanbridge, chairman of the Fancott Miniature Railway, said the heritage railway was unique.

He told ITV News Anglia: "Originally, there were another two miniature railways in Bedfordshire but they've been long gone and they were in pubs.

"We are basically the oldest and possibly the very last pub garden railway in the UK."

There has been a miniature railway at the rear of the Fancott public house since 1975.

Passengers pay £2 each for a ride around the track which runs for three-quarters of a mile, travelling at a leisurely speed of about five miles an hour.

At the front, driving the train, is one of the railway's youngest volunteers, Stevie Nicholson, who is 18.

He said: "I just have a general interest in transport but especially railways. Eventually I want to work on full-sized mainline railways. So coming down here is quite fun because I get to drive the trains."

The Fancott Miniature Railway is now keen to find more volunteers and needs to raise funds to maintain the site.