A £7.90 train journey has cost a Cricklade woman more than £650 after she was caught on board without a valid ticket.

She is among 25 other passengers who were caught travelling on Great Western Railway services in the region without a valid ticket who have had to cough up hundreds of pounds after the train operator took them to court.

Cricklade resident Nina Austin was caught at Swindon on August 25 of last year having failed to buy a £7.90 train ticket for her journey.

The 38-year-old of Common Hill was not present for her hearing at Swindon Magistrates' Court which saw the case proven in her absence, and she was fined £440.

On top of her fine she must also pay compensation to GWR of £7.90 as well as a £44 victim surcharge and £160 costs to the railway operator towards the cost of bringing the matter to court.

David Watkins-Rudman, 30, of Huddleston Close was also fined £440 for not buying a £7.90 ticket at Swindon on September 23, which saw him also ordered to pay compensation for the ticket value, a victim surcharge of £44 and costs to GWR of £160.

On the same day as their hearings at Swindon Magistrates' Court, GWR also brought prosecutions against 24 other passengers from around the region who attempted to travel without tickets.

This saw chairman of the magistrates' bench Linda Raine hand out a total of £7,840 in fines for unpaid fares ranging from £2.50 to £169.75, while ordering a total of £359.05 compensation be paid to the operator to cover the cost of the tickets.

These defendants must also pay a total of £3,840 to cover GWR's prosecution costs.

A spokesman for GWR explained that the operator had processes it had to follow, but always attempted to resolve matters with passengers without court action. Where a penalty fare is issued the passenger is written to and offered the opportunity to pay or to appeal the fine, and a subsequent reminder is sent. But if passengers do not respond when contacted then the matter is referred to the criminal courts.

He explained that to be consistent for all those travelling the rules are the same regardless of the fare amount and are set out in National Conditions of Carriage.

He said: "Fare evasion costs the rail industry about £240 million a year. To make sure that customers who pay for rail travel are not unfairly subsidising those who choose to avoid paying passengers are required to purchase a ticket prior to boarding a service from station ticket offices or from the available ticket vending machines."