A LADIES toilet block was broken into and "vandalised" at Severn Valley Country Park.

The country park was hit twice overnight on Saturday (August 1) as arsonists caused damage to a brick shelter at Country Park Halt, and a women's toilet block at Station Road in Highley was broken into, with human waste left inside the cubicle.

A post from Severn Valley Country Park on Facebook said: "At some point during the evening of Saturday, August 1, two incidents of vandalism occurred at two locations within Severn Valley Country Park.

"The the ladies toilet in toilet block at Station Road in Highley was broken into with human waste left in the cubicle and the tap running. The door will require replacement before the facility can open.

"On the same evening the shelter at Country Park Halt on the Severn Valley Railway was burned in an arson attack.

"It appears that part of the platform fence was ripped down and dragged under the shelter before it was set on fire.

"The fire has destroyed a third of the roof which will now need to be completely replaced.

"The building and platform belong to the SVR and, working with the fire brigade, it has now been cordoned off to keep people safe."

A spokesman for the Severn Valley Railway described the arson attack as "disappointing" and "a kick in the teeth".

Speaking to The Shuttle, an SVR spokesman said: "This all happened over the course of a few hours.

"The fire service attended and got the fire under control pretty quickly, however the roof is quite badly damaged so we will need to do work to fix that.

"Thankfully, this doesn't impact our services as the platform is only a request stop but isn't in use at the moment.

"It's still very disappointing that this has happened, especially as we are getting back on our feet. It's a kick in the teeth and not what we need when we're working so hard to get everything up and running again."

A police investigation is now under way and anyone with information is being asked to call West Mercia Police on 101.