A top Government minister has branded Burton's railway station as 'hideous' during a meeting with politicians from the town.

Rail minister Paul Maynard has shone the spotlight on the state of Burton's station and sparked demands to improve the facilities after his comments.

The Borough Road station has come under fire over the years, including for having no area to sit and have a drink and for the general poor appearance of the station.

Protests will take place at Burton railway station
Burton Railway Station is in need of improvement

Burton's MP Andrew Griffiths was joined by leader of East Staffordshire Borough Council, Councillor Richard Grosvenor, Staffordshire County Council cabinet member for economic growth, Councillor Mark Winnington, and deputy leader of East Staffordshire Borough Council, Councillor Jacqui Jones, who took their case to the Mr Maynard at the Department for Transport’s offices in London.

When shown photographs of Burton's station, the minister described it as "hideous" prompting the area's politicians to call on the minister to reject the bid from train operator East Midlands Trains to continue to operate the East Midlands line, which runs through Burton, if it fails to commit to improving the station.

Mr Griffiths, said: "A town as big as Burton with planned growth in the future deserves a better gateway and a better first impression than with the station we have now.

"We are urging the Rail Minister to ensure the future operator of that line commits to improving the station if they expect to be successful in winning the franchise."

The Burton and Staffordshire politicians are pictured outside the department for transport in London

Councillor Grosvenor, said: "East Staffordshire Borough Council is well aware of what local people think about the appearance of Burton train station and want something done about it. I hope that the minister will take on board what we have said and we can now see some progress."

Councillor Winnington, added: "This was a very positive meeting and it was great to see the minister so keen to hear what we had to say. The improvements we discussed would send the right message to businesses looking to invest in Burton."

While Councillor Jacqui Jones said the council had been trying to get a commitment to improvements for years.

She said: "With the franchise up for renewal it is crucial that the voice of Burton is heard and that any new rail provider commits to delivering the improvements we all want to see."

Mr Griffiths has also called for more carriages to be added to trains and more frequent services on the Derby to Stoke line, also run by East Midlands Trains, which runs through Uttoxeter.

Pictured is Andrew Griffiths MP, Councillor Richard Grosvenor, Councillor Mark Winnington and Councillor Jacqui Jones with Rail Minister Paul Maynard MP

At present passengers are often faced with one-coach trains and services which make it impossible to reach Uttoxeter by train before 2.30pm on race days at Uttoxeter Racecourse.

This is what you thought of Burton's 'hideous' train station

We have been out at the station in Burton to find out what you think about the venue and here's what you had to say:

Calvin Moran-Hudson, from Burton, said: "It's just a bit dated really. I come here by bike and the security for it when I leave it isn't great, so I'd like to see a bit more security for the bike storage."

Calvin Moran-Hudson thought that more security is needed for the bike area
Calvin Moran-Hudson thought that more security is needed for the bike area

Also from Burton, Ian Hunter added: "I haven't really got any complaints. No matter what improvements are made here, it's going to get abused by the wrong people.

"The toilets have been done before, and have been destroyed, it makes you wonder what is the point?"

Virginia Yasan, who was travelling from Leamington Spa, near Stoke said, although the station is not the nicest to look at, it certainly has good parking.

She said: "It is quite a small station, and a bit ugly. The car park is certainly good though, but disabled access could be a little better, and maybe a nice cafe selling coffees and tea."

Virginia Yasan would like to see a café introduced to the station
Virginia Yasan would like to see a café introduced to the station

The addition of a cafe to the station was a popular opinion among the commuters, including Zia Khalid, who was on his way to Leicester.

Mr Khalid said: "No work has really been done and a lot needs to be improved. When it's full, there's nowhere to sit and more needs to be done about scheduling.

"It can be busy for 30 minutes, then absolutely nothing. A better shop would be good, somewhere to get coffee, the shop upstairs is barely open, it doesn't feel safe at all at night when you're alone."

Declan Haverly travelled all the way from America, but doesn't think Burton train station is too bad
Declan Haverly travelled all the way from America, but doesn't think Burton train station is too bad

Barry Reynolds added: "It's not the prettiest place in the world, but I wouldn't say it's hideous. It's much better than some stations I go to, I regularly use Wolverton station, which is a tin can compared to here.

"At least there's a human here if you need to speak to someone, and working toilets."

Declan Haverly, who is originally from America, is accustomed to travelling and said: "I have been to quite a few stations here, London, Manchester, but I think it's a nice station here, certainly compared to some I've seen back at home. It's clean and organised."