Two vandals who carried out graffiti ‘tag’ attacks on the district’s heritage railways have been warned by a judge to expect prison.

Jake Gardiner, 21, and Joe Lay-field, 19, pleaded guilty to criminal damage at Keighley and Worth Valley Railway and the Yorkshire Dales Railway in Embsay, near Skipton.

The pair also vandalised a regular service Northern Rail train in Bradford, the city’s Crown Court was told yesterday.

Judge Peter Benson adjourned sentence until March 12 for the preparation of probation reports.

But he warned the pair to expect custodial sentences to act as a deterrent to others.

Judge Benson said: “People spend hours creating these re-sources so that other people can enjoy steam engines in the countryside.

“It must be frustrating for them when idiots like you come along and deface the trains that they put so much time and effort, at no profit, into running for the benefit of the community.”

Gardiner, of Morris Grove, Leeds, and Layfield, of Tinshill Lane, Cookridge, Leeds, admitted damaging an electric diesel unit belonging to Northern Rail at Bradford on April 25 last year.

Layfield also pleaded guilty to damaging a diesel multiple unit belonging at Embsay and dam-aging carriages belonging to the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.

Gardiner admitted damaging carriages at Embsay and Oxen-hope.

Prosecutor Richard Davies said each would be asking for further offences to be taken into consideration by the sentencing judge.

The court heard that Gardiner was about to start a teacher training course and Layfield was an art student.

After the case volunteers at both railways said the pair had struck at crucial times causing an estimated £40,000 of damage.

Paul Brown, chairman of the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, praised police for catching the pair.

He said: “We are delighted with the outcome. This vandalism was ruining years of painstaking restoration work. They hit both coaches and the diesel units.”

Stephen Walker, of the York-shire Dales Railway, said the damage took place over a six-month period.

“We would repair a carriage and then they would come back again. It was very demoralising and distressing. One of our volunteers became ill because of it. Restoring carriages was his life's work and to turn up in the morning to find such wreckage was very distressing.

“This mindless vandalism, be-cause that's what it is, devastated the whole team of elderly gentlemen who were dedicated.”

He added: “People said they would never be caught, but they have. The police did a wonderful job.”