COMMUTERS had to board the train without a ticket after the machine at Braintree Freeport stopped working.

Passengers boarding to get into London were forced to get off at the next stop to buy a ticket.

Greater Anglia said they were aware of the issue and are awaiting an engineer to repair the machine.

It said it was "really sorry" for the issue and reminded commuters to purchase tickets as soon as possible.

Passengers who wanted to use the machine to buy tickets had to get off at the next station to buy a valid ticket for their journey.

On any Greater Anglia rail network, if a commuter is caught without a ticket they may face a penalty fare costing at least £20 or even prosecution.

Earlier this year, it was revealed fare dodgers have been fined nearly £66,000, with the train company prosecuting a total of 370 people in October for fare evasion.

The Greater Anglia network has services in Cambridge, Colchester, Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea.

Greater Anglia has been contacted for a further comment.

The ticket machine reportedly stopped working this morning.