Merseyrail wants to target persistent offenders

A train operator is banning passengers who put their feet on the seats.

Merseyrail, which runs local services from Liverpool out to Cheshire, Wirral and West Lancashire, is also cracking down on people who fail to buy tickets.

The company brought in a zero tolerance policy to passengers putting their feet on seats last February.

Repeat offenders whose bad behaviour annoys and intimidates other passengers may now also be banned from using the Merseyrail network.

The rail network said highly-visible enforcement officers with head cameras had been travelling on its trains as part of the crackdown.

Hundreds prosecuted

A spokesman for the network said: "An exclusion letter will be served to such an offender only after prior written warning and when they next appear in a magistrates court after having committed a further offence.

"The exclusion will apply for a set period and for all of or parts of the Merseyrail network, depending on individual circumstances."

Merseyrail is the only train operator in the country to prosecute passengers for putting their feet on seats.

More than 500 train passengers have been prosecuted by the company since it began enforcement in February, including a student who was taken to court after being caught with her feet on a seat in June.

She was given an absolute discharge by Chester magistrates.





