14 January 2011 Last updated at 08:32 ET

Thieves take 70 tonnes of track near Doncaster

Seventy tonnes of railway track have been stolen in South Yorkshire.

Police said 1.28km (0.79 miles) of track had been taken from the line at Tickhill, near Doncaster.

It is thought the disused track was taken over several nights before Christmas, to be sold as scrap metal.

British Transport Police (BTP) said the financial implications were "vast" for Network Rail, which had been looking at making the line operational. Police are appealing for information.

Det Con Ian Grice from BTP said: "Whoever's been responsible for this has been quite well organised and they've had a good knowledge of railway infrastructure and particularly railway line removal."

He said the line had been taken from a valley, probably at night, which is why police believe so much track was taken before it was reported.

Mr Grice said Network Rail had been looking into making the line operational and it would "cost the railway company a lot of money to replace what's been stolen".