TRAIN fare dodgers from Bradford or those using stations across the district have been ordered by the courts to pay more than £9,000 for fares worth £858.80 in the last six months.

Magistrates' Courts have fined 21 people in total over that period for travelling on the railway without paying a fare.

This includes not having a valid ticket to show when reaching a destination and failing to hand over a ticket for inspection while on the train.

The journeys made by these individuals includes: travelling from Ipswich to Bradford, Bradford Interchange to Blackpool and from London Kings Cross to Leeds.

Five other people were also being dealt with by Magistrates' Courts, but three had their offences withdrawn, two cases were dismissed due to no evidence offered and one hearing has been adjourned until June.

The total amount the 21 individuals have been ordered to pay - which includes a fine, compensation for the fare, a surcharge to fund victim services and costs - is £9,027.20.

Many have been charged hundreds of pounds for journeys that otherwise would have cost them less than a fiver.

Robert Boag, 60, of Valley View in Baildon, got on a train from Bradford Forster Square to Shipley on December 18, 2019 - costing £2.60 at the time.

The 60-year-old was unable to show a valid ticket when he got to his destination though and did not have the money to buy one.

He was sent a letter requesting the fare only, but did not respond.

He was then issued a Fixed Penalty Notice.

Both remained unpaid and the issue was taken to court.

Boag pleaded not guilty last September but was fined £100 after the subsequent hearing on January 6 this year, where he was found guilty.

In total, Boag was ordered to pay £634.60 - more than 240 times what the ticket would have cost.

One foul-mouthed train traveller was ordered to pay more than £1000 for refusing to pay for a train journey and then becoming verbally abusive with staff at Leeds Railway Station.

Daniel Davis, 35, of Cottingley Road in Bradford was found guilty of unacceptable behaviour on the railway and travelling on the railway without paying a fare at Kirklees Magistrates' Court on January 6 this year.

The court heard he tried to buy a ticket at the station after he had travelled on a train from Bingley, on October 21, 2019.

The journey cost £4.60 at the time, but Davis was asked to speak to member of staff at the station, who explained about penalty fares.

The court was told: “He then said, ‘£20, f*** off’, and he started to walk away.”

Davis moved towards the barriers at the station, shook them, became aggressive towards a ticket inspector and told staff during his tirade: "I’m not paying your f*cking fine, you can suck my f***ing d***".

Two police officers eventually arrived to take Davis's details and he was sent two letters requesting an explanation, but he responded to neither.

At court, he was ordered to pay £864 in total for the unacceptable behaviour on the railway and £224.60 for travelling on the railway without paying a fare.

One of the region's most prevalent operators, Northern Rail, has warned people against this kind of practice - whether you intend to buy a ticket after your journey or not.

A spokesperson for the company said: “Everyone travelling by train should have a valid ticket before boarding.

“We have delivered significant investment for our customers with improvements at station ticket offices and we’ve installed more than 620 new ticket machines across the network.

"We’ve also developed our website and mobile app to give customers more options and to make buying a ticket easier than ever before.

“Sadly, some people chose to ignore these options and still try to travel without paying for their ticket.

“When caught, fare evader scan face on-the-spot penalty fares or, in some cases, a court appearance and the potential for much stronger fines.”

“Penalty fares and fines are designed to tackle the minority of rail users who persist in refusing to buy their tickets before boarding a train.

"They don’t exist to criminalise our customers and we understand there will still be some circumstances in which customers are unable to buy tickets.

"In these cases our authorised collectors are able to use their discretion to ensure no-one faces unfair penalties.”