TREVOR Ledgeway always fancied driving a steam engine after watching his grandfather in charge of iconic locos when he was a child.

Now his dream has finally come true after he took to the footplate of Sir Nigel Gresley on a journey along the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

Mr Ledgeway, a pensioner, of Beckfield Lane, Acomb, said his daughter-in-law Marie Ledgeway successfully bid £580 for him to enjoy the experience when it was offered in an auction held in York about four years ago to raise money to repair a bridge on the line.

He said there were delays caused by repairs to the loco and a backlog, but he eventually took to the footpate recently as the LNER A4 Class locomotive went from Grosmont to Pickering.

“It was brilliant,” he said. “I am very grateful.”