TWO men have been arrested after travelling more than 100 miles to spray graffiti on train carriages parked on railway sidings near Skipton.

Yesterday, Tuesday, British Transport Police were called to Hellifield station after receiving reports just after 2pm that two men had made the journey in order to purposefully graffiti the side of the carriages.

The carriages are owned by West Coast Railways and have been parked in the sidings near the station for several years. In that time they have been regularly attacked by graffiti 'artists'.

The two men, from Tyneside, were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and trespass. They have now been released under investigation pending further inquiries.

Inquiries are also ongoing after officers carried out searches on two houses in Tyneside and recovered a substantial amount of property.

A spokesperson for the British Transport Police said: "It was a busy day yesterday for our Lancaster-based officers.

"Two men, who had travelled down from Tyneside, were arrested by us at Hellifield after the pair went there to graffiti West Coast Railways carriages on the sidings.

"With assistance from colleagues in the north-east, two house searches were conducted and a substantial amount of property seized.

Both men were released under investigation pending further enquiries.

The spokesperson added: "There are a small number of serious graffiti vandals in the country who do a lot of damage to the rail environment.

"Our officers mount operations to detect offenders, painstakingly gathering evidence, targeting suspects, implementing handwriting and forensic analysis and using surveillance.

"For serious vandals, who normally use "tags" to identify themselves, the aim is to get their work seen by as many people as possible.

"As a result, we encourage rail companies to take trains out of service as soon as the offence is discovered to act as a deterrent.

"We also employ a number of prevention techniques that have proved successful against the serious vandal.

"Our crime reduction advisors work with railway businesses on security for sidings and sheds, stations and trains and we recommend the use of anti-graffiti surfaces and paints to deter offenders.

"Serious vandals are often involved with other types of crime, such as drugs and robberies, and our efforts to bring them to justice can help to reduce other instances of crime on the railways too."

West Coast Railways have been approached for a comment.