Two schoolboy James Bond fans are moon-raking in cash to help rebuild a historic signal box which featured in the movie Octopussy after it was destroyed by arsonists.<br /><br />Oliver Walker and his friend Harry Cowley, both 12, were heartbroken when they discovered yobs had torched Orton Mere signal box near their homes.<br /><br />The century-old structure is one of the oldest signal boxes in the UK and featured in James Bond movie Octopussy in 1983 starring Roger Moore.<br /><br />Vandals burned it down on Monday (12/3) when they broke into Nene Valle Railway near Peterborough, Cambs.<br /><br />Oliver and Harry, who admit to being “huge James Bond fans”, have launched an online appeal to save the signal box.<br /><br />Within a days their JustGiving campaign raised more than £5,000.<br /><br />The lads have also vowed to walk the entire 10-and-a-half mile stretch of the Nene Valley Railway to raise even more funds.<br /><br />Harry, whose godmother runs a model railway shop, said: “I found out about the arson attack on Monday after my friend sent me a photo.<br /><br />“I was instantly in tears and went down to see it.<br /><br />“When I got there, I Facetimed Oliver to show him and he burst into tears too.<br /><br />“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.<br /><br />“I love trains. I got my first model train when I was two months old, and my favourite model train is the Flying Scotsman.<br /><br />“I love watching the trains go by and usually take videos to be uploaded onto mine and Harry’s YouTube channel.<br /><br />“Me and Oliver are James Bond fans, especially Octopussy which was filmed at Nene Valley.”<br /><br />The arson attack follows a string of incidents that happened across Orton between Sunday (12/3) and Monday (13/3).<br /><br />Alongside the signal box, several cars were set alight and destroyed in the surrounding area.<br /><br />Oliver, whose great-grandfather worked as a train driver, said: “Me and Harry were both gutted when we heard about the signal post and are very sad and disappointed at what those people did.<br /><br />“We hope our money can help make a difference and repair the signal post.<br /><br />“Me and Harry are train obsessed and love going round to each other’s houses to watch our model trains on the tracks.<br /><br />“My favourite train is the Sir Nigel Gresley train and it was meant to be coming to Nene Valley at Easter but now I don’t know if this is possible with the broken signal box.”<br /><br />Harry’s mum Jennier, 36, said she was overwhelmed by the boys determination to fundraise and get the signal box repaired.<br /><br />The mum-of-three said: “I was overwhelmed that the boys wanted to do something to help.<br /><br />“Me and Oliver’s mum Sarah are both very proud of the boys and all the money they have raised so far.<br /><br />“They want to turn a negative into a positive and do something for the community.<br /><br />“A lot of people from all over the country visit Nene Valley Railway and so they wanted to help in any way they could.<br /><br />“We both think what they’re doing is amazing and wish them both look on their fundraising walk.”
