Young James Bond fans raise £5,000 to rebuild Octopussy signal box after fire
Now they're planning a huge walk to raise even more cash.
Two schoolboys are raising money to refurbish a historic signal box after it was destroyed by arsonists.
The hut is around 100 years old and sits on the Nene Valle Railway, near Peterborough. It appeared in the iconic James Bond movie Octopussy, starring Roger Moore in 1983.
Bond superfans Oliver Walker and Harry Cowley, who are both 12, were shocked and upset when they found the local landmark was badly damaged.
They resolved to help with its restoration, and launched a GoFundMe page to raise funds. Within only a few days they had raised £5,000.
The boys now say they will walk the entire length of the Nene Valley Railway – which is 10 and a half miles long – to raise even more cash.
Harry said he found out about the arson attack on Monday after his friend sent him a photo.
‘I was instantly in tears and went down to see it. When I got there, I Facetimed Oliver to show him and he burst into tears too,’ he said.
‘We were both so devastated about it and wanted to do what we could to help so this is when we launched our fundraising pages.
‘I love trains. I got my first model train when I was two months old, and my favourite model train is the Flying Scotsman. I love watching the trains go by and usually take videos to be uploaded onto mine and Harry’s YouTube channel.
‘Me and Oliver are James Bond fans, especially Octopussy which was filmed at Nene Valley.’
The signal box was damaged during a spate of arson attacks between Sunday and Monday, which also saw multiple cars set on fire.
Harry’s mum paid tribute to her son’s efforts: ‘I was overwhelmed that the boys wanted to do something to help.
‘Me and Oliver’s mum Sarah are both very proud of the boys and all the money they have raised so far.
‘They want to turn a negative into a positive and do something for the community.’
You can donate to the boys’ fundraiser here.
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