VOLUNTEERS have been hard at work preparing Llangollen railway for the return of Santa.

Ahead of the return of the Santa Specials this weekend, volunteers have taken the opportunity during the railway's three week close season to tackle overgrown vegetation along the track.

A spokesperson from the railway said:"The railway wouldn't exist without volunteer input.

When the trains are running, they man trains, the stations and the signal boxes and when they're not running they get up on the track and fix up the hedging, the fences

"On top of that, they're still working hard on the Corwen station, and I'm sure they'll all be out once again this weekend, weather permitting.

"The work never stops and our fantastic volunteers manage to look after all of the things Network Rail has to employ vast teams across the country to handle."

The first Santa Special departs from Llangollen to Lapland - a festively renamed Carrog terminus - on Saturday, December 1 at 12.45pm, with trains running periodically until Christmas Eve, followed by Mince Pie Special from Boxing Day.

For more information, visit llangollen-railway.co.uk.