Model engineering enthusiasts say thieves who derailed a popular hobby and attraction stand to earn just £36 from scrapping the stolen metal railway track.

But it will cost enthusiasts thousands of pounds to replace the rails taken and damaged in the raid on Canterbury and District Model Engineering Society at Brett Aggregates at Sturry.

The thieves struck in the early hours of Sunday morning, stripping the entire 720ft circuit on which members run miniature steam engines.

They cut up the track into lengths and took away around 200ft - leaving the rest stacked up, presumably to take on a return visit.

Chairman Paul Kemp said “This is very disappointing and demoralising for our members. It also impacts on the wider community who come and enjoy rides on the trains, community groups who visit for educational purposes and those who celebrate birthdays with private trains being run for the purpose.

"It is impossible to immediately speculate the true cost of repairing the damage and replacing the rails. But you have to seriously question the motives and perhaps intelligence of the perpetrators when the current scrap value of the rail stolen using the London Metal Exchange amount to around £36. So not a terribly lucrative night's work.

"Sadly even the rail left behind is beyond further use and will need to be renewed which is particularly unfortunate as we were nearing the end of a rail renewal program and most of the rail stolen or damaged was relatively new."

The cost of repairs is still to be properly assessed but when factoring in new rail, sleepers and fixings is likely to run into several thousands of pounds. That is without any labour cost as all our members are volunteers who are now looking at many hours of effort to rebuild the track”.

Police have attended the site and examined the area for evidence.

They are also interested in hearing of any suspicious vehicles at the entrance to the site over the previous couple of weeks.

Mr Kemp added: "The society wishes to thank all those members of the public making the effort to notify us of the incident and calling with messages of sympathy and support”.

Sergeant Lee Thompson said: "By dismantling the whole track the thieves have caused thousands of pounds worth of damage. By comparison the metal they stole is worth a few pounds.

"It was a senseless theft which will have a big impact, not only on the members of the society who will have to replace it, but also on the many members of the public who used to enjoy train rides at the site."

Police are appealing for anyone who saw or heard anyone acting suspiciously in the area to contact them.

"The offenders would have needed a vehicle to transport the track. It would have also taken them some time to dismantle it. We urge people to think back and if they remember seeing anything suspicious to contact us," Sergeant Thompson added.

"We would also like to hear from anyone who is aware of people trying to sell lengths of train track, either as scrap metal or to other railway enthusiasts."

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 01843 222289 or Kent Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 quoting crime reference number ZY/4703/17.