Passenger cost train bosses £10,000 by holding doors open
A nuisance passenger, who delayed a train into Birmingham by 11 minutes by holding the doors open - costing the rail network almost £10,000 - has been jailed for 10 months.
Aaron Reid, 28, boarded a service at Aston on the afternoon of February 10 and deliberately held the doors open to stop the train leaving so someone he was with could get on.
The senior conductor went to speak to him about his actions at which point, Reid became aggressive and began filming her on his mobile phone.
Reid was asked to leave the service but he refused, further holding up the train at Duddeston. Officers met the train at Birmingham New Street, where he was arrested.
The entire incident caused knock-on delays to 42 other trains, with one service at Barnt Green being cancelled altogether.
Reid was subsequently charged with two counts of obstruction – one for holding the doors open at Aston and the other for refusing to leave the train – but denied the offences, saying his shoelace had got stuck in the train door.
He appeared at Birmingham Magistrates Court on June 9 where his behaviour again landed him in trouble after he argued with the judge.
Reid, of Grosvenor Avenue, Handsworth, was then found to be in contempt of court, in addition to being convicted of both the obstruction offences.
He was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison for the obstruction offences, which activated three suspended sentences – totalling 24 weeks - handed to him in 2014 by another magistrates' court for assault, harassment and threatening behaviour.
He was also issued with a restraining order, banning him from approaching the conductor.
Pc James Hannan from Birmingham New Street said: "Reid has come to our attention on numerous occasions for exactly this kind of behaviour.
"He'll pick arguments with rail staff and police over what are usually very trivial matters and then refuse to leave the train.
"The level of aggression he displays is totally unacceptable and over the top, affecting passengers around him and delaying their journeys.
"We hope this sentence acts as a wake-up call to Reid and makes him think twice before he acts. We will also be seeking measures to prevent him from using the rail network in the future in order to protect rail users and staff from his unpleasant behaviour."
