Kirkby to Mansfield train ride costs woman £400

Nicole Hamilton must also find the £2.90 fare after failing to appear at Nottingham Magistrates' Court..

The court heard a woman was checked on the eight-minute Robin Hood Line train journey between Kirkby and Mansfield.

She had no ticket and gave her details as Nicole Hamilton, aged 23, of Kirkby town centre.

Sharon Williams, prosecuting for service operator East Midlands Trains, said she was given a penalty fare but did not pay this.

The court heard Hamilton later said she would plead not guilty to travelling without a ticket on April 30.

A trial was set up but she did not attend that.

The three magistrates found her guilty in her absence after the case was outlined to them.

She was fined £220, which is half the figure regarded as an average week's earnings in the UK, and ordered to pay the £150 costs of the train firm and a £30 Surcharge.

Compensation of £2.90 was awarded to East Midlands Trains to cover the lost fare.

The magistrates gave her two weeks to pay and imposed a collection order. This would eventually give bailiffs the right to seize goods to cover the £402.90.

East Midlands Railway has since taken over the franchise to operate trains on the Robin Hood Line, between Nottingham and Worksop, via Kirkby, Sutton and Mansfield