THE future of rail services from Okehampton is hanging in the balance after the company running a heritage service from the station went into administration.

Staff at Dartmoor Railway based at Okehampton Railway Station were told the news on Friday.

One employee said: ‘We were told at 11.15am that we were shutting down.

‘We all went into the meeting together and the guy from the administrators said that’s it.

‘We literally grabbed our things and left and the doors have been locked.’

She said at least seven people had lost their jobs.

‘There is anger at the short notice,’ she added. ‘We did know things were going on but we weren’t told beforehand.’

Owner British American Railway Services, a subsidiary of American company Iowa Pacific Holdings, had been trying to sell the heritage railway as a going concern over the past month.

The future of the popular station café and heritage shuttle service to Meldon Viaduct on summer weekends and Bank Holidays is now unclear.The station is owned by Devon County Council.Paul Martin, one of the duty managers at the station, said on Monday: ‘I have not heard any more news. I have brought Percy the station cat home with me.‘My understanding is that it was going into administration at 4pm on Friday. I wasn’t there on Friday morning but my colleague who was said they were told they would all have a letter in the post. We were told it was going up for sale and that if it didn’t sell there was a possibility that it would go into administration. I hope the county council has a plan for the station at least.’The Dartmoor Railway Supporters’ Association (DRSA) was itself waiting for news from the county council this week, posting on social media that the news ‘eventually seemed inevitable’ but was ‘still a shock’.The charity, whose volunteers maintain the rolling stock and drive the trains, is based in the building on platform two, leased separately from the county council.Vice chair Sue Baxter said: ‘DRSA are continuing to look after platform two and the plants and help keep everything tidy in cooperation with DCC who own the whole station.’ Association members took to Facebook to express hope that the station would soon reopen along with the long-awaited mainline service to Exeter and heritage railway trips. One wrote: ‘It is a sad day. Thinking of all the staff affected. We as volunteers are ready to help when and where we can.’ A spokesperson for Devon County Council said: 'We would expect to hear from the administrator shortly.'