Union officials lobbied rail passengers this evening to protest against the latest rail fare rises.

The rise of 3.6% is the highest since 2013.

Members of the RMT, with Labour Party members, handed protest cards to commuters coming off the trains at Dover Priory Station.

It gave passengers the chance to fill in their names and addresses and send them on to their local MP.

Mike Sargent, Dover secretary for the RMT'S rail section, said: "So many low paid workers are caught in transport poverty.

"They spend more than 10% of their income just to get to work.

"We think it's outrageous that every year fares go up and up yet people's wages are stagnating or not going up at all."

Passenger Callum Stove, of Crabble Hill, Dover, commutes to Ashford paying £188 for a monthly ticket.

He said: “The service is getting worse and yet they are going to charge us more to use this service. You’ve got delays all the time. I think it is an outrage.”

The increase is for next year but the Department of Transport says 97p out of every £1 paid by customers goes back into rail investment.

Southeastern says that the government regulates fare rises to meet the cost of running the railways.

It says that it has invested more than £70 million to improve train services and stations.