Services on a Somerset steam railway are being disrupted because drivers are having to clear piles of cremated remains off the track.

The owners of the West Somerset Railway are appealing to bereaved relatives not to deposit their loved ones' remains on the line. At least eight mounds of ash, most accompanied by flowers, have been found on the track since the start of the summer.

They are believed to be the mortal remains of steam enthusiasts whose last wish was to be laid to rest within earshot of a locomotive.

Mark Smith, the managing director of the West Somerset steam railway, said: "I have seen piles of ashes. They are quite large and are often accompanied by flowers.

"It puts our drivers in a difficult position because they worry that they may run somebody over while they are on the tracks and workers don't want to touch the cremated bodies because it's a health hazard."

The picturesque 20-mile steam route runs 32 journeys a day carrying hundreds of passengers between Minehead and Bishop's Lydeard in Somerset. But drivers are having to stop in case the dear departed's relatives are still in the area.

Mr Smith said: "The last thing we want is another dead body because they were trying to carry out the last wishes of a steam enthusiast. It must stop."

He added that steam enthus- iasts can instead request that their remains are shovelled into the engine's firebox and puffed out of the funnel. "We receive many requests to place ashes in the engine. We are happy to oblige as long as it is organised and done with reverence."

Chris Richardson, 63, a steam train enthusiast, said that the incidents showed the lengths that people will go to in order to be near trains, even after death. He has been a trainspotter since the age of 8. "Trainspotting is not just a hobby," he said. "For some people it is their life - and death. It is quite common practice to have your ashes scattered as near to a train as you can. I knew someone who bought a ticket, booked a seat for his urn, and his family had to sit next to it for hours on his favourite route."