DODGING fares of as little as £2.30 has landed dozens of rail passengers in court and facing big fines.

The cases of a total of 112 people were taken before Southend magistrates in a single day. They were all charged with failing to pay fares to travel on National Express East Anglia trains, Those convicted were ordered to pay a total of £31,855 in fines, £846.40 in compensation and £7,665 in court costs.

After the hearing, Ellen Rossiter, spokesman for the rail firm, stressed all the fare dodgers had been given several chances to pay up before being taken to court.

She said: “Initially, someone is given a penalty fare notice. They have 21 days to pay that penalty fare.

“They are also given details of an independent appeal process they can use.

“If they don’t respond, they get two warning letters, which means they have several chances to sort it out before it goes to court.”

Among those taken to court were: * Kayleigh Richardson, 22, of the Ramparts, Rayleigh, who failed to pay for a £10.30 ticket. She was ordered by pay a total of £318 in fines, compensation and costs after being caught between Stratford and Rayleigh stations * Jamie Beard, 21, of Elm Drive, Rayleigh, who admitted not paying a £3.90 fare between Rayleigh and Southend Victoria and was ordered to pay a total of £153 * Daniel Gardener, 21, of New Park Road, Benfleet, who failed to pay a £2.30 fare between Rayleigh and Wickford. He entered no plea and was told to pay a total of £340.30.

Mrs Rossiter added: “We will continue to take a proactive approach to reducing all instances of fraudulent travel on our network.”