‘Anti-Christian’ DVD row

The daughter of Thomas the Tank Engine author the Rev Wilbert Awdry has criticised “political correctness against Christian belief” after reports that religious references were removed from a story.

Her comments come after an episode called Keeping Up With James, which featured on a DVD, showed the trains competing to carry presents to children and included references to “winter holidays” and a “holiday tree” was released.

Mr Awdry’s daughter, Hilary Fortnam, said she was “dismayed” by the story.

In a letter to a national paper, she said: “It is not what my father, the Rev Wilbert Awdry, wrote.

“He always impressed on reporters and publishers that he ‘was a priest first and a children’s author second’.”