A man used fraudulent train tickets for more than four years, evading paying fares of up to a possible £85,000 according to an expert.

Rory Stickles has now been fined £10,000 after he was found with counterfeit tickets and passes dating back to 2019 for journeys made between Folkestone and St Pancras International railway stations.

At around 9.20pm on January 26, Stickles approached the barrier at St Pancras International where a member of rail staff was conducting ticket checks.

Initially, he presented a staff ticket which the person checking passes noticed was out of date.

They then noticed further inconsistencies and believed it to be fraudulent.

They showed the ticket to British Transport Police officers and explained the situation.

Stickles was searched and found to be in possession of nine tickets and passes believed to be fraudulent.

The tickets dated back to 2019, amounting to four years’ worth of journeys made fraudulently between Folkestone and St Pancras International.

These were seized, checked, and confirmed to be counterfeits.

An expert witness estimated the loss in revenue was anywhere between £27,959.70 and £85,546.70.

Stickles, of Wakefield Way, Hythe, appeared at Inner London Crown Court on Tuesday (July 2) where he pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by false representation and nine counts of possession of an article for use in fraud.

The 46-year-old was given a 12-month sentence, suspended for two years. He was also ordered to pay a fine of £10,000.

“He believed he was above other rail passengers in not having to pay the full fare...”

Investigating officer PC Matthew Spencer said: “Stickles’ fraud covered four years resulting in a significant loss of revenue to Southeastern.

“He believed he was above other rail passengers in not having to pay the full fare.

“This is not a victimless crime, with losses like this impacting the honest fare-paying public.

“We will not tolerate fraud on the rail network and we will do everything in our power to bring offenders to justice.”