A Worcestershire great grandmother  has ticked off an item from her bucket list by dispatching a Great Western Railway train.

Rose Gardner from Upton Snodsbury in Worcestershire is 78 and needs to use a wheelchair. She has five children, 20 grandchildren, and 24 great-grandchildren, and created her bucket list because: “I’m getting older and there’s still lots of things I’d like to do.” She dispatched a train from Honeybourne station where when as a child, she helped to clean the Royal Train on its way to Cheltenham Racecourse.

It promises to be quite a year for her as earlier this year she had her garden replanted, in October she is going to see Daniel O’Donnell in concert at Scarborough, and is planning to spend a couple of days by the seaside with her husband John. Her bucket list also included some long-awaited dental treatment.

Rose grew up around trains as her father worked in the nearby shunting yard and one of her brothers was a fireman. She now enjoys playing train simulator video games.

After dispatching the 12.34 service from Hanborough to Worcester Shrub Hill Rose said: “I’m an absolute train fanatic and this is something I’ve always wanted to do. I like the Flying Scotsman and I’m also a big fan of the GWR trains which go up to Worcester Shrub Hill – they go great guns!”

“There was always lots of excitement whenever the Royal Train came in with the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh on board. We were allowed to clean the top half of the train and it really was something to look forward to.”“I enjoy playing on the laptop and taking the train through to a certain station. But nothing beats travelling on an actual train. I like sitting by the window and watching the countryside roll by.”

Billy White, GWR Station Manager for the North Cotswolds, said: “Rose’s story proves trains have equal appeal for enthusiasts young and old. It was an absolute pleasure to make one of her dreams come true and she was a natural helping to dispatch the train. Hopefully, we’ve been able to make it a special day for her.”