10-mile long model railroad vandalized

BARNSTAPLE, England, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- An effort to build a 10-mile long toy railroad for a British television show has been derailed by theft and vandalism.

About 400 people have been involved in the construction of the toy line between the Devonshire towns of Barnstaple and Bideford, The Daily Telegraph reported. One was James May, a presenter on the BBC hit car show "Top Gear," who is working on a new show, "James May's Toy Stories."

The thieves stole sections of track and the battery powering the trains and put coins on the track, causing the battery to short-circuit.

"It's a community effort," said Rod Garner, secretary of the Tarka Valley Railway Society. "Everyone is doing it for free, and to have some idiots come along and ruin it really annoys everyone involved. It's just sad that they have nothing better to do."

The television show is to involve a series of giant toy endeavors, including creating a full-size Lego house, building a model Spitfire airplane the size of a real one and putting together a river-spanning bridge from Meccano.