Infrastructure firm Story Contracting has made two senior appointments.

Ian Purdham has been made rail director and will be in charge of this division’s operations in England while Iain Thomas has become regional operations manager.

Mr Purdham has been with the business for 12 years and has progressed from a plant co-ordinator to head of region .

He said: “I am delighted to be appointed to the board of directors at Story Contracting. I am also delighted that this reflects the hard work of the entire Rail England team as we grow and develop the business and that this has been recognised by the company.”

Mr Thomas joins from national firm VINCI Construction and has 17 years’ experience of working in the rail industry, including spells on the modernisation schemes of the London Underground.

He said: “I’m looking forward to immersing myself into the rail network with new clients and stakeholders. I want to demonstrate to the marketplace the capabilities of Story Contracting."

Story Contracting was set up in 1987 by Fred Story and works in the construction and rail industries. Its headquarters are in Belle Vue, Carlisle.

Story Contracting and Story Homes demerged from Story Group in 2013 to become separate companies.