Put your feet on a train seat and get a criminal record

 

By JAMES TOZER - More by this author » Last updated at 21:04pm on 29th May 2007 Comments (6)

Careful! Antisocial behaviour such as this could earn you a criminal record

 

A commuter who put his feet on a seat during his train journey home has been prosecuted in a clampdown on antisocial behaviour.

Babiker Fadol was spotted by a security patrol after stretching out his legs and dozing off.

He was ordered to attend court under a 120-year-old bye-law which makes it a criminal offence "to interfere with the comfort or convenience" of fellow passengers.

He pleaded guilty and was given a one-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £50 costs. This means he now has a criminal record.

Yesterday, the 45-year-old declared that his prosecution was a waste of money and said the courts should concentrate on tackling more serious crimes.

He said: "I am not happy about it. It is wasting the court's time, my time and taxpayers' money.

"Putting your feet on the seat is a bad habit but it's the least of the problems on trains. They should focus on real crimes."

But train operator Merseyrail - the only company to deal so strongly with passengers who put their feet on seats - said several passengers had been prosecuted for antisocial behaviour, including smoking in carriages.

A spokesman said: "We are tackling things that aren't the crimes of the century but which irritate the 99.9 per cent of passengers who find such behaviour unacceptable.

"We've reduced incidents such as robberies and assaults on our trains by 60 per cent and we're now tackling lower-level troublemakers.

"Passengers are informed whenever our security teams are on board their train, and if they choose to continue to behave in an unacceptable manner they will be dealt with accordingly."

Fadol was caught by security officials who were using headmounted filming equipment to record the incident, while his train home to Chester was at the station in nearby Capenhurst on March 29.

He took his feet off the seat when asked to, but was still given a court summons.

He appeared at Chester Magistrates' Court charged under the 1889 Railway Regulations Act with behaving in a disorderly, indecent or offensive manner that interfered with the comfort or convenience of a person on the railway.

His solicitor Erwin Bamforth told the court: "It's absolute nonsense. He did no harm and when he was asked to put his feet down he co-operated.

"Now he finds himself with a criminal conviction for the first time. He didn't appreciate it was an offence."

In February last year builder Rudolph Mills, 39, was arrested when he put his feet on a bench at Cambridge station.

Mr Mills, from North London, was taken to court accused of soiling railway property and preventing other rail users from sitting on the bench in contravention of railway bye-laws.

However, the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the case.

Are they kidding? Anti social behaviour? why because you wanna stretch your legs a bit? :laugh3::laugh3::laugh3::laugh3:

 

I'd have learn loads of funny things tonight!

Are they kidding? Anti social behaviour? why because you wanna stretch your legs a bit? :laugh3::laugh3::laugh3::laugh3:

 

I'd have learn loads of funny things tonight!

 

That's Blair's Big Brother Britain for you!!:rolleyes:

:laugh3:*looking under my chair*

*sigh of relief* no one's here

 

Have these people been fined? :lol:

:laugh3:*looking under my chair*

*sigh of relief* no one's here

 

Have these people been fined? :lol:

 

It's a new "tax", called police tax!!:rolleyes:

:laugh3:

but would they still charge you if you took your shoes off first? coz that's why people get annoyed, putting your filthy shoes on seats they may want to sit on

but would they still charge you if you took your shoes off first? coz that's why people get annoyed, putting your filthy shoes on seats they may want to sit on

 

If you did that you'd be arrested for air pollution instead!:rolleyes:

this is rediculous

What i thought only America's government was facsist?!? this is mind blowing.

If you did that you'd be arrested for air pollution instead!:rolleyes:

 

talk about yourself!!! nothing wrong with my feet thank you very much :P

er... TICKETS PLEAAASE :dozey:

What i thought only America's government was facsist?!? this is mind blowing.

 

Oh yeah man, ours is right up there with the US Government.....

 

I can't even guess how many times I've put my feet up. Having said that, my feet/shoes were never filthy when I did so and I have taken off my shoes in the past.

 

Still, this is obviously very alarming......the very fact that it has been thought up by someone at all is crazy.

It's not the government's fault this time... (Although it is an ancient law)

 

it's the "revenue protection officers" on the trains trying to get bonus points for number of fines issued out.

talk about yourself!!! nothing wrong with my feet thank you very much :P

 

Would Ian care to pass comment?:rolleyes: