Man who dodged Devon train fares racks up £30k in fines

A man who ran up fines of more than £30,000 by dodging train fares has been given a “clean slate”.

Exeter Magistrates’ Court heard Nicholas Tooley had not paid for trips between Exeter and Teignmouth to see his family over a seven-year period from April 2017.

District Judge Stuart Smith said the 54-year-old of Alphington Road, Exeter, who lived on Universal Credit, had got into a “crazy situation” as he owed £30,012.90 in unpaid fares, court fines and costs.

He cut the sum owed by Tooley down to £1,154.30, which covered the period of July and August this year.

“This is a clean slate – pay for each one. If you cannot afford it, don’t get on the train,” Judge Smith warned Tooley.

The court was told during the hearing last week that, if Tooley had paid the current single fare of £6.60 for his trips, he would have spent less than £5,000.

It heard the fare in 2017 was £1.80.

The court was told Tooley had paid £2,100 of the fines, which had already been cut down to £14,517.30.

Mr Smith said: “This obviously cannot continue – if you want to get a train, you pay for tickets.

“How crazy that situation is, you owe a staggering amount of money well outside your capacity.”