YOUNG train fanatic Ewan Kaczanow enjoyed a birthday surprise to savour with a VIP tour of Exeter St David’s Railway Station.

Train operator Great Western Railway treated Ewan to a ride on one of its Intercity Express Trains, showed him inside a train driver’s cab and took him into the station signal box to mark his 11th birthday on January 23.

The South Tawton Primary School pupil is a huge fan of GWR’s new bullet-style trains and has even built a level crossing in the back garden of his North Tawton home.

The VIP tour was made possible following an appeal by mum Teresa Pearse, who said she was forever taking Ewan to nearby viewing points so he could watch IETs passing through.