A TICKET dodger has paid more than £500 in fines after he avoided paying for a train ticket that cost just £5.

Sami Alani, of Salisbury Close, Rayleigh, was fined a total of £566.20, after he tried to avoid paying for a train ticket between Southend Victoria and Rayleigh.

Alani was caught dodging his fare on February 27 last year when a Greater Anglia ticket inspector fined him for the ticket, that only cost £5.20.

He appeared at Basildon Magistrates Court on Monday February 5 where he was fined £374, costs of £150 and a victim surcharge of £37.

He was also ordered to pay back the price of the ticket.

Alani is among 236 passengers who have been prosecuted by Greater Anglia for avoiding fares on the line between Southend Victoria and London Liverpool Street.

The fines paid by fare dodging passengers amounted to £72,005.

On Monday January 22, Basildon Magistrates Court heard 144 cases and imposed fines of £22,715 and costs of £21,600.

On Monday February 5, a further 92 cases were heard by the court, resulting in more fines of £15,920 and costs of £11,770.

Some passengers who avoided paying for tickets worth only £3.10 were slammed with fines totalling £293.10.

Some of the journeys spanned just two stops, between Rochford and Prittlewell.

The offenders were all caught using the train without any money or rail cards on them, to pay for their tickets.

Another 48 cases were heard for ticket dodgers in Suffolk.

Ipswich Magistrates Court imposed fines of around £10,500 and costs totalling £5,000.

Following the success of the almost 300 prosecutions, Andrew Goodrum, Greater Anglia’s customer service director, said: “Money from tickets is invested in the railway.

“People refusing to pay for tickets could result in ticket prices going up for everyone.

“Our ticket inspectors regularly patrol our trains, some in uniform and some in plain clothes. At the end of the day, it’s much cheaper to buy a ticket than to end up in court with a fine and order to pay costs.”