Guard spat at in 'disgusting' attack on train (this is Devon 31/07/2010)

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

From this is Devon:

A group of abusive rail travellers spat in the face of a train guard in a "disgusting" attack as he tried to eject them from a carriage.

The guard was left "shaken" after the incident, which began when the group of five men boarded the service to Paignton at Exmouth at 8.08pm on Saturday, July 24.

During the journey, the men became abusive towards a number of male and female passengers. When the train arrived at Teignmouth at 9.18pm, the guard asked the men to leave train. They threatened the guard before one of the group spat on his face as they dismounted.

The guard was not injured but was left shaken by the men's behaviour.

Sergeant Dave Mannion, one of the investigating officers, said: "This was a disgusting act by one of a group of men whose behaviour towards the guard and other passengers was completely unacceptable.

"British Transport Police will not tolerate assaults on, or aggression towards, members of rail staff who should be able to carry out their duties without facing behaviour such as this."

Four of the men reportedly spoke with Liverpudlian accents.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Further details are in the BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) press release:

BRITISH TRANSPORT POLICE APPEALS FOR WITNESSES AFTER MAN SPITS ON TRAIN GUARD - DEVON

British Transport Police (BTP) officers are appealing for witnesses following an incident on board at train between Exeter and Paignton during which a man spat on the train guard^s face.

A group of five men boarded the 2008hrs Exmouth to Paignton service at Exeter St David^s rail station shortly before 9pm on Saturday 24 July.

During the journey, the men became abusive towards a number of male and female passengers. On arrival at Teignmouth rail station at 9.18pm, the men were asked by the guard to leave train. The men threatened the guard before one of the group spat on his face as they left the train.

The guard was not injured but was left shaken by the men^s behaviour.

Sgt Dave Mannion, one of the investigating officers, said: ^This was a disgusting act by one of a group of men whose behaviour towards the guard and other passengers was completely unacceptable. BTP will not tolerate assaults on, or aggression towards, members of rail staff who should be able to carry out their duties without facing behaviour such as this. I believe there were a number of witnesses on board this train on Saturday evening and I would urge anyone who saw what happened, or who knows the identity of those responsible, to come forward and contact British Transport Police.^

The five men who BTP officers want to speak to are all described as white, with four believed to have spoken with Liverpudlian accents.

Two were in their thirties - one was described as being about 5ft 10in, of medium build with ginger hair and black rimmed spectacles, while the other was described as being of ^thick set^ build with short, greying hair.

Two of the group were in their forties - one was about 5ft 10in and of medium build, while the other was about 5ft 11in and of stocky build with a tanned complexion.

The fifth man was aged 25-30, of heavy build with dark hair.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40, quoting incident number 627 of 24/07/2010, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Notes to Editors:

No CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision) images of this incident are currently available

My emphasis in italics. C.

[devon_metro]

142s do not have CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision)

[gaf71]

I know the guard involved in this incident, and he was quite upset, and shaken afterwards. Unfortunately, he didn't use his swab kit, as he immediately wiped the spit from his face. which is a normal reaction to being spat at. No one deserves to be treated like this for merely doing their job, and trying to protect normal well behaved passengers. The sooner these disgusting scum are caught and prosecuted, the better.(I bet that if he had managed to get a swab, the DNA of these pondlife is more than likely already in the police records.)

[alan_508]

Hate this kind of thing and it just seems to be the way that the public think they can treat railway staff. Just typical that four of them had to be scousers  .... I am from the wirral just across from Liverpool and work for Merseyrail and scenes like this are a common sight on the local network unfortunatly ,It makes me ashamed to be from the same area as the scum responsible for this !!
Hope all is well with the guard but there really needs to be something more done because in my opinion the btp dont do enough to protect railway staff everything seems to go against the victims of the crime instead of the culprits these days. 

[JayMac]

I thinks it's a bit unwise to make assumptions based on the fact the alledged perpetrators 'had Liverpudlian accents'. That piece of information is there to help catch those responsible. This sort of loutish behaviour is not confined to one demographic, is not worse in one place compared to another and is not all too common.

Also I think this story highlights that BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) are doing enough, they are investigating after all.

[alan_508]

I understand it happens everywhere it just seems more common in some places than others !