Passengers travelling through Marston Green railway station can now borrow books for free as part of a new initiative to encourage reading across the West Midlands.

West Midlands Railway (WMR) has launched a mini library at Marston Green station, alongside two other stations in the region, in time for October half-term.

The new bookcase features a selection of books supplied by the National Literacy Trust, allowing passengers to pick up something to read during their journeys.

The initiative comes as part of the National Year of Reading, a campaign led by the Department for Education in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust and nine leading literacy charities to encourage people of all ages to discover the benefits of reading.

The scheme has also been introduced at Erdington and Northfield railway stations, with the three new libraries adding to existing bookcases across WMR and sister brand London Northwestern Railway's network.

Other stations with bookcases include Canley, Shenstone, Wolverton and Berkhamsted.

Cara Higgs, community strategy manager at WMR, said: "We are pleased to be supporting the National Year of Reading by opening mini libraries across our network.

"There are so many benefits to sitting down with a good book, not only for your literacy skills but for your mental health too.

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"We hope our customers enjoy the books on offer and look forward to bringing the scheme to more stations in the future."

Erin Gilbey, manager of the National Literacy Trust in Birmingham, said access to books was essential to helping people develop a love of reading.

She added that the new bookcases would allow more children, young people and adults across the West Midlands to pick up a book while travelling.

The National Literacy Trust reports that 34.4 per cent of children and young people in the West Midlands enjoy reading in their free time, while 19 per cent read daily in their spare time.

More information about the National Year of Reading is available here.