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Probe after passenger throws fare-dodger off train

An investigation has been launched after a fare-dodger was hauled off a train by a passenger who stepped in to help the conductor.

The incident on the Edinburgh to Perth train was filmed and has received more than 300,000 hits on YouTube.

The footage, taken by a passenger on Friday, shows a youth refusing to pay for his ticket or get off the train.

A big man then gets up, grabs the youth and appears to throw him onto the platform at Linlithgow, West Lothian.

The man then twice stops the teenager getting back on the train before returning to his seat to a round of applause from passengers.

A ScotRail spokeswoman, said: "While we welcome the public's support of our zero-tolerance stance on anti-social behaviour, our staff are trained in conflict management and we do not expect members of the public to take matters into their own hands.

"We are investigating the incident, which appears to show a person travelling without a valid ticket, refusing to pay for the journey, and swearing at a staff member in full view of customers."

A British Transport Police spokesman, said: "We are aware of the YouTube video and our inquiries are ongoing.

"British Transport Police did not receive a complaint from anyone on the train at the time the incident is believed to have taken place."

However: also note how many of those comments posted to the Daily Mail article which criticize the conductor or 'the big man' have promptly been voted down ... ?

A complaint has been made to police against a passenger who threw a "fare-dodger" off a train after he refused the conductor's request to leave.

Alan Pollock's action against Sam Main on the Edinburgh to Perth train on Friday was filmed by another passenger.

British Transport Police would not confirm who had made the complaint.

Mr Main, a 19-year-old student from Falkirk, claimed he had mistakenly bought the wrong ticket and was hoping to explain it to the conductor.

He told BBC Radio Scotland's Call Kaye programme: "I was given no time to explain myself. It wasn't even an argument.


A complaint is made to the police about a passenger who threw a suspected "fare-dodger" off a train
"There was a discussion with me trying to explain myself for about a minute and then the conductor started shouting at me," he said.

"I never seen his face, I never seen a man. He never approached me. He never said 'right son get off the train'.

"He grabbed me from behind, threw me to the ground on the train. Then picked me up off the ground on the train. Then threw me to the ground on the platform."

Mr Main told BBC Scotland he had tried to get back on the train to get his bag - which contained his phone, exam notes and headphones - but was prevented from doing so by Mr Pollock.

He also said he was diabetic, had not eaten much all day and had not slept the night before because he had been studying.

"[This] had perhaps quite an adverse effect on my mood and my mannerisms at that time, but still I don't condone the way I spoke to the conductor," he said.

Applause
The student admitted he had been drinking before the incident, but said he was not drunk.

The footage, filmed by passenger Ian Hems and uploaded to YouTube, shows a youth refusing to pay for his ticket or get off the train.

A man then gets up, grabs the youth and appears to throw him onto the platform at Linlithgow, West Lothian.

The man then twice stops the teenager getting back on the train before returning to his seat to a round of applause from passengers.

But one woman is heard to say: "There's no need for that."

A spokesman for British Transport Police said: "A complaint has been received and inquiries are ongoing into the incident."

The video has been viewed almost a million times but the ^star^ of the show, the big man, now faces a possible assault charge. The boy claims he suffered cuts and bruises ^ he is but a poor innocent diabetic who had been sold two tickets in the same direction by mistake. Boo hoo, smirk many. Let us play the smallest violin in the world. Their sympathies lie with Alan Pollock ^ for it is he who is now likely to end up in court, not the teenager who effed and blinded and refused to abide by the rules of the railway.
 
But by pitching the vigilante against the fare-dodger, I feel we are ignoring the real problem: the ticket inspector. Mr Main may have uttered a few expletives, but he was hardly violent, so why did the railway worker insist on the extreme action of not moving the train, to the detriment of everybody else on it? Why didn^t he extract the boy^s address, or get officials to meet them at the other end? Why did a member of the public have to get involved at all, potentially turning an unpaid ^5.10 ticket into a costly assault trial?

It^s down to the ridiculous travel regulations printed in tiny letters on the back of your ticket, which make it invalid on wet and windy Thursdays and the first and last Saturday of the month. The complete inflexibility of railway companies has sucked all common sense out of the people who staff trains.

Sam Sugarfree Main
notify the weed man, tell him have it in stock ;)
Share ^ 28 November at 19:09 via Mobile ^ 

That's interesting. And if that is indeed the case I wonder how Scotrail feel about the conductor delaying the service for 5 or 10 minutes when the normal course of action is to take details for a UPFN and/or call BTP. Doubly so if Sam Main was being abusive for '5 or 10 minutes'.

That aside I still don't see Mr Pollock's actions as justified. There wasn't an immediate threat to life and limb, no-one has stated that Sam Main made any threatening remarks or was showing signs of aggression.

Is being abusive not a sign of aggression?

But the events aboard the 9.33pm commuter train mean his future is also in jeopardy: Alan Pollock^s father this week questioned whether Sam should be allowed to remain on his surveying degree course at Heriot-Watt University, where he is in his second year.

I think speculating about the possible outcome of this particular incident could put us on rather more dodgy ground

...has also been reported to the procurator fiscal service, which decides whether to prosecute alleged crimes in Scotland. He has been reported under Section 38 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing Act Scotland, and in connection with an allegation of trespass.

Just like Btline said

I bet EVERYONE involved wished it wasn't on YouTube. Has it done anyone any good?

Btline, that is what the Daily Mail are saying.

Umm exactly... hence I included a link to the DM story! ??? The capital letter are to highlight new information - otherwise there would be nothing to add to the BBC article already posted.

We're going to have fare dodgers up and down the country refusing to get off. No guard will risk chucking someone off anymore. IMO, it is wrong to charge Big Man for assault. This attitude is why we had the Summer riots!

INCIDENT ON-BOARD EDINBURGH TO PERTH SERVICE - FRIDAY 9 DECEMBER 2011 - REPORTS SENT TO PROCURATOR FISCAL

*** The following text has been approved by the Procurator Fiscal ***

British Transport Police can now confirm that a 35-year-old man from Stirling and a 19-year-old man from Falkirk are the subject of a report to the local Procurator Fiscal in connection with an incident on-board the 21:33 Edinburgh Waverley to Perth service, at Linlithgow on Friday 9 December 2011.

Any further update should be obtained from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Notes to Editors:

Representatives are reminded that proceedings are now considered ^active^ under the Contempt of Court Act 1981.