Port Erin railway station is currently missing its belfry after it was removed for safety reasons, rail officials have confirmed.

The decorative roof feature, installed during station renovations about a decade ago, was taken down after workers discovered water leaking through the roof.

On inspection, the base of the ornamental belfry was found to be rotten and structurally unsound.

The fixture has been removed for repair, with the Department of Infrastructure saying public safety was the priority.

Trevor Wilson, property manager at the department, who was overseeing the operation on Friday morning, said: ‘There was a report of water ingress and when we went up to check we found out that due to decay in some of the base it was structurally unsound.

‘So, the best course of action was to remove it for the safety of members of the public.’

He added that the belfry had been put in place 10 years ago when the renovations took place. ‘The original belfry went years ago and it had been capped off with lead,’ he said.

Mr Wilson said the removal was a tricky operation, but his team were ‘used to such things’.

Port Erin station is the southern terminus of the Isle of Man Railway’s steam line, which first opened August in 1874.

It is one of the oldest and longest narrow-gauge passenger railways still in operation anywhere in the world which uses its original engines and carriages.

The current station building was constructed in 1909 from distinctive red Ruabon brick, replacing an earlier structure.

The removal of the belfry is not expected to affect regular railway operations, and further details on its restoration will be released in due course.