A COUNCILLOR has launched an ambitious bid to raise £350,000 to buy and refurbish a historic pub which has fallen victim to vandals and failed to sell at auction.

Great Aycliffe Town Cllr Paul Symons has big plans to bring back to life Locomotion No 1, which sits opposite the platform of Heighington train station, Newton Aycliffe, and has significant links to the North-East’s railway heritage.

Dating back almost 200 years, the former Heighington Station is where the pub’s namesake and first steam locomotive to run on the Stockton and Darlington Railway was assembled in 1825 - heralding the start of the railway system in Britain.

The father-of-one has set up an online appeal to gather enough funds to purchase the Grade II-listed building, on sale for £210,000, and cover the cost of fees, initial advice and securing it - in the hopes of opening it in time for the milestone bicentenary in 2025.

Independent Cllr Symons, 39, said: “It just upsets me that something like that could go to waste, especially something so historic. I thought it would be good for the community to get it back open. It’s too good an opportunity to miss.

“I just want to get it back to having meals, entertainment and events for the community and save and help a historic building for the area and for the railway. If I had the money to buy it myself I would have done it already.”

Cllr Symons has already approached businesses on the nearby industrial estate for support in return for promotion at the pub.

He has also got a meeting lined up this week with Friends of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

Once he has the money, Cllr Symons will then embark upon restoring the establishment to its former glory - a task he expects to be a costly exercise due to the scale of damage within.

“Vandals have smashed all of the windows and doors, the sinks, toilets, bar, behind the bar, they’ve pulled the electrics up, the floor boards and pulled the radiators off the walls,” he added. “They’ve absolutely done a job on it.” Fellow town Cllr John Clare praised his colleague on Facebook for “drawing attention to the importance of this iconic heritage asset”, adding: “Hopefully this will be the start of a meaningful campaign to save the building.”