91Èȱ¬

A new cable car system in Blaenau Gwent has had to close to the public twice just days after opening - after being targeted by vandals.

The £2.5m funicular cable car connects Ebbw Vale's town square with The Works - the regenerated site of the former steel works.

The system took a year to build and was only opened last Wednesday.

Door controls were attacked on one occasion, while security sensors were trigged in another incident.

"To date there have been two separate occasions where user behaviour has caused the cableway to shut down," confirmed an official for Blaenau Gwent council, which is responsible for operating the funicular cableway.

"The first occasion triggered the peripheral security sensors of the site, and the second occasion disrupted the cabin door controls.

"The shutdowns have all been rectified within a short timescale; it usually takes one to two hours to safely put the cableway back into service."

The council said its teams in the area were carrying out regular patrols of the cableway, and the area was also under round-the-clock CCTV monitoring.

The service was in full operation on Friday.

The cable car, which is capable of carrying 22 people, is unmanned and operated by the users themselves.

It travels 140ft (43m) between two stations, dropping 75ft (23m) as it descends.