The chief executive of a railway centre which was ransacked by thieves has appealed to the public to help track down the culprits.

Clive Hetherington, 70, said the three unidentified men who broke into Didcot Railway Centre in the early hours of Wednesday morning (April 19) would offend again if they were not stopped.

The intruders stole expensive technology - including brand-new Walkie Talkies worth over £1,000 - and caused thousands of pounds of damage.

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Police are investigating the incident but have not made any arrests.

The railway centre, which is located near Didcot Parkway, has released CCTV images of the raid and asked the public to help identify the offenders.

Mr Hetherington, who has worked at the centre for two years, said: “It’s important to catch them as the mindlessness of this thing is quite disturbing and they are not going to stop at one offence.

“They will only stop when they are caught.”

The offenders broke into the railway centre at around 3am. It is believed they gained access through the railway track – known as the east curve – which they could use because of the lack of train services while repairs are made to Nuneham Railway Bridge.

They smashed around 12 windows, broke down between eight to nine doors, and ruined four computer monitors which they sprayed with fire extinguishers.

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The administration office was trashed with draws strewn on the floor and a hole smashed in the wall.

The men also made off with two mobile phone, two SumUp card machines - only bought a month before - and six new Walkie Talkies, although they left the instructions.

Mr Hetherington said: “There’s nothing of any value here. They were looking for money or cash probably and anything else seemed to be irrelevant.

“3am is an unusual time. The arguments with youths is that they never get out of bed but these lot did. It must just be an adrenaline rush.

“One of them had a metal bar and if there was someone on site it could have been much worse."

The railway centre, which houses a collection of heritage locomotives, carriages and wagons and artefacts, is a charity and is run mainly by volunteers.

Mr Hetherington said: “The main effect is that most of the people are volunteers and it’s the destruction to their working place for no reason whatsoever. It is pointless for everyone.

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“I’m quite shaken and angry but over the years I’ve learned not to be surprised by anything. I’m just disappointed.

“People are very angry and they have got all the disruption with all the repairs to the glass windows and doors.”

Mr Hetherington was initially disappointed with the response by police but said he had since been reassured they were “following up various leads.”

Event coordinator Sarah Jermyn, 52, was one of the first on the scene with her husband Richard, a general manager, and she described the break-in as “senseless.”

She said: “I just feel angry really. There are a couple of other railway centres that have had vandalism and fires and we are grateful it wasn’t more serious.

“There is stuff in the office we can put together again. But it was senseless.”