AN “INSPIRATIONAL” campaigner for the restoration of the Borders Railway has died at the age of 95, her family has announced.

For almost half a century, Madge Elliot campaigned tirelessly against the closure of the old Edinburgh-Hawick-Carlisle Waverley Line in 1969 and was a founding member of the Campaign for Borders Rail.

Her efforts came to fruition when the line reopened to Tweedbank in 2015 and Madge had a Class 66 diesel locomotive named after her in recognition of her brilliant work.

Despite a decade-long battle with Alzheimer’s, Madge continued to fight for worthy causes.

She was given an MBE for her services to lawn tennis in the region and contribution to local life in 1999.

Just weeks ago, Madge was invited to reopen the Teviot Day Service for the elderly in her hometown of Hawick, which had been closed illegally by Scottish Borders Council.

The campaign to restore the service was led by Madge’s son, Sean, who described his mum as “inspirational”.

He said: “After a 10-year battle with Alzheimer’s, our inspirational mum, Madge, succumbed to a combination of old age and this awful disease on Saturday morning.

“Truly a life well lived, she gave so much time to the community, not just in terms of the railway campaigning, but a huge contribution to tennis, in partnership with our dad, Bob, and a whole host of other campaigns and volunteering roles over her lifetime, too many to list.

“We’re very glad she was able to attend the reopening of Teviot Day Service a few weeks ago, the last campaign she was involved in.

“We will certainly miss her.”

On X, formerly known as Twitter, a Campaign for Borders Rail spokesperson said: "We offer our condolences to her family and remember her with great affection."