Half of train and Tube louts fail to pay

A crackdown on bad behaviour on Tubes and trains has been called a failure after it emerged half the people given on-the-spot fines failed to pay.

Figures today show that last year British Transport police handed out more than 2,600 fines of either £50 or £80 to passengers who had committed a range of "low level" transgressions, from anti-social behaviour such as playing loud music or putting their feet on seats, to more serious offences like being drunk and disorderly or harassing other passengers.

However the figures, released under the Freedom of Information Act, showed that only 53 per cent of the fines were paid leaving penalties of more than £93,000 that were not.

British Transport Police was unable to say if court proceedings were taken against those who did not pay. The figures cover fines on the Tube as well as rail services across the capital.

They were introduced amid concerns that commuters often feel intimidated by low-level bad behaviour.