A FORMER Vale of Evesham club which was almost forced to close two years ago through vandalism is now hoping for a bright future in south Warwickshire.

Members of Badsey and District Model Engineering Society suffered a slump in morale in July 2000 when vandals ripped up more than 100 yards of rail track at their old headquarters at Badsey Sports and Recreation Club in Brewers Lane, destroying months of painstaking work.

The society, which was formed in 1996 by Badsey enthusiast Phil Castle, had been saving money for five years to pay for the track and half its members left following the attack, bringing its future into question.

In fact the society was put out of action for the rest of the year, but chairman Peter Merris vowed at the time: "We are as keen as ever to do something somewhere. We won't let them beat us."

True to his words the group found a new home and in October last year, planners at Stratford District Council approved the move to Hillers Farm Shop in Dunnington, where work is now being carried out in preparation for the laying of the track.

The name has also been changed to Avonvale Model Engineering Society and members have been giving their free time to help speed up progress.

Secretary Ron Horn explained the reason behind the move. "The club decided to move to the new site at Dunnington because it is quieter, more secure and above all, it's flat, as miniature trains cannot cope with steep gradients," he said.

"It's been a bit of a blow in some ways because the impetus was lost and some members moved away.

"It has been a bit of a problem but the hardcore have kept up good morale and we are now more or less back on an even track; we've got about 12 members and there's a couple more in the pipeline.

"We've also been given fairly unrestricted access to a JCB and, as one of our members is a JCB driver, we have been able to progress with digging out the station area where people will be able to get on and off. Once that's done we'll be able to make good progress.

"We also changed the group's name because it's more reflective of our new location."

Mr Horn added: "We haven't set a date yet for when we will be completed but given reasonable weather it should be finished within two or three months."

He also said that he was hopeful numbers would increase now the society has been able to find itself a new home.

For further information, contact Ron Horn on 01386 840181 (daytime) or 01789 450500 (evening).