2 days ago
EXCLUSIVE Shocking moment jobless fare dodger hurls abuse at rail inspectors after refusing to buy a ticket
A rail passenger hurled shocking abuse at inspectors after refusing to buy a ticket, threatening to slash their throats and saying he hoped they died from cancer.
The man was confronted by revenue protection officer Lauren on a South Western Railway train from London Waterloo to Weymouth after avoiding her colleague.
He admitted he had no ticket because he had 'just lost my job' before warning Lauren not to 'start threatening me with legal action', adding: 'I don't care about police.'
The passenger became further agitated as he shouted at the camera operator filming the ongoing incident for Channel 5 series 'Fare Dodgers: At War With The Law'.
He said: 'Listen, get that camera out my face, bruv. I don't give a s***. Put it down before you get f***ing knocked down. You asking me for a ticket - I ain't got a ticket. The last guard, I put a blade to his throat because he was f***ing p***ing me off.'
The section of the line between Bournemouth and Weymouth is known as a fare dodging hotspot because there are no ticket barriers at the intermediate stations.
And Lauren encountered the same passenger again a week later at Weymouth on board a 6pm London-bound departure which was preparing to leave the station.
He again began hurling abuse at her and colleagues, with security guards and British Transport Police officers called to assist staff in getting him off the train.
The man is seen on CCTV on board the train at Weymouth hurling abuse at security guards
Abusing a bearded security guard, the man shouted: 'Yeah, what are you gonna do, f*** off you f***ing plastic gangster. I'll grab that beard and rip it off your f***ing chin.
'Yeah call the old bill, I don't give a f***. You f***ing prick. F***ing don't look at me then, you f***ing prick. What are you going to do about it, you f***ing fat p****?'
Lauren called her team manager then spoke to the guard to ensure the train did not depart while they waited for police to attend, as the man continued being abusive.
The passenger shouted: 'Don't put your f***ing hands on me.'
Security eventually succeed in getting him off the train, but he continued to shout at them as he walked out of the station, telling them: 'Don't put your f***ing hands on me.'
He continued: 'F*** off, I hope you f***ing die of cancer. F*** off, n****-looking p****. Don't start a fight with me, stay where you f***ing are. I mean it, I'll smash your f***ing head in.'
A passenger is spoken to by investigators at London Waterloo station after only buying a ticket from Vauxhall, as he is finally caught after evading nearly £20,000 in ticket costs
Once the man was safely off the train, the revenue protection officers then checked with other passengers on board that they were all OK, before the train departed.
Producers of the documentary, which next airs this Sunday at 9pm, said the man is now under police investigation, adding that SWR have had to close their case for unpaid fares because he provided false information.
The production team also said the incident was a 'sobering reminder of how a routine fare check can spiral into a threatening confrontation', adding that tackling fare dodgers can be 'dangerous' for rail staff.
Violent assaults on railway staff and police across the UK are said to be at a four-year high, with 600 incidents of assault reported on SWR alone last year.
British Transport Police figures show there were 3,330 recorded assaults on rail staff across the UK as a whole last year, a rise of almost 25 per cent on the previous year.
Other incidents in the latest episode include a 'gate block' turning ugly as a team of six revenue protection officers from SWR try to catch fare dodgers at the barrier.
Two officers are also seen going undercover on a major sting operation at Byfleet and Haw in Surrey.
MailOnline has already covered a series of incidents featured in the documentary, and it comes after Robert Jenrick highlighted fare dodging at Stratford.
The shadow justice secretary posted a video on social media last month in which he confronted people who forced their way through the ticket barriers at the station.
Separately, a report released last Wednesday found fare evasion is becoming 'normalised', with train staff telling the inquiry that they are struggling to cope with 'aggressive' passengers who refuse to buy tickets.
Travellers are using 'a range of techniques to persistently' underpay or avoid paying and see it as a 'victimless crime', according to the Office of Road and Rail (ORR).
Meanwhile TikTok influencers are brazenly showing Tube passengers how to illegally travel for free by 'bumping' through the station ticket barriers.
'Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law' is next on Channel 5 this Sunday at 9pm
