The rotary club and railway staff in St Albans have raised more than £1,500 for a charity dedicated to vulnerable children.

First Capital Connect (FCC) and the Rotary Club of St Albans Verulamium, volunteered their time to run a Santa Special train service from Bedford to Brighton before Christmas with children’s entertainers, elves and Mr Claus himself on board.

A few days later, Santa then paid a visit to St Albans station. The rotary club raised £652 at the two events which FCC promised to match and round up.

Trevor Miles, vice president of the rotary club, said: "These were very worthwhile events and brought a lot of pleasure to many young people. The money raised will help a lot of disadvantaged groups and people.

"We look forward to doing more events with FCC in the future with Santa and others."

On Tuesday, January 22, staff from FCC presented a £1,000 cheque to make a total of £1,652 to help deprived children in the St Albans area.

Keith Jipps, customer service director from FCC, said: "Our staff loved being on board the train and as a company, we were pleased to be able help rotary further with what is a very worthwhile cause."