A NOTORIOUS fare dodger has been slapped with a record-breaking £10,000 fine as c2c's clampdown on ticket fraud continues.

The evader in question was travelling through a c2c London station without a valid ticket for the full length of their journey, as discovered by a routine inspection by a revenue protection officer.

Further inquiries uncovered the individual had been repeatedly cheating the system for approximately five years.

Iain Palmer, c2c’s head of revenue protection and security, said: "Fare evasion, whether deliberately or inadvertently, is a criminal offence and c2c will always look to prosecute those who attempt to cheat the system."

"We have recently increased the number of revenue protection officers patrolling our stations and trains, especially during the off-peak, and we now have more eyes and ears monitoring and closing in on customers who frequently travel without a valid ticket."

The rail firm serving east London and south Essex reported its initiative, which aims to eradicate ticket evasion, has reaped about £130,000 in fines and penalties in 2024 alone.

This whopping total includes the £10,000 extracted from a persistent fare evader, found evading fares since 2019.

Mr Palmer further discussed how their fight against fare evasion extends beyond merely handing out fines.

He said: "Our work to crackdown on fare evasion isn’t just about catching and issuing penalty fares to customers who travel without a ticket, the intelligence provided by our digital sales channels and ticket barriers also help us identify those using c2c services without a valid ticket for the entirety of their journey."

"There is absolutely no excuse for travelling on c2c without a ticket."

Fare evasion is a persistent issue, costing the rail industry millions each year and is also a key contributor to anti-social behaviour across the rail network.

The c2c revenue protection and security teams operate around the clock, aided by the British Transport Police.

Their work in 2023 resulted in £315,000  being collected through penalties and fines.

c2c offers a wide range of ticketing options and these are all available to purchase either online, in app, at ticket offices or from ticket machines.