Commuter who can't get a seat is fined for standing in luggage space near first class

Nichola Myhill's hour-long journey ended with the threat of arrest and a £69 fine because she had strayed out of a second-class compartment.

Now the 27-year-old magazine graphic designer is waiting to hear of her appeal against what she described as "the appalling way I was treated".

Ms Myhill caught the 6.30pm service from Liverpool Street station on her way to her home in Fingringhoe, near Colchester, but there were no seats available.

She said: "I pay just over £4,000 a year for a season ticket yet I usually end up sitting outside a toilet on the dirty floor because everywhere is full up.

"People were standing in every available space between carriages - it was not possible to stand in the aisle because it would have caused huge disruption.

Together with another young couple I stepped into the space at the end of a first-class carriage. A guard saw us and we explained that there was nowhere else to go, which he accepted.

"But 10 minutes later a pair of ticket inspectors came through and having seen our tickets told us we were all going to be fined on the spot.

"I felt intimidated by their aggressive attitude - they demanded my details including my National Insurance number and where I worked.

"I was not at all happy about giving them so much information but they said I would be arrested if I refused to co-operate.

"They called up two men who showed me their warrant cards and they told us that we had to comply with the inspectors or we would be committing an arrestable offence.

"I was made to feel like a criminal and I was terrified that I would be taken off the train in handcuffs. Several passengers in the first-class compartment protested at the way I was being treated.

"They were astounded by what was happening - one man told the inspectors to leave me alone because I was not causing any problems and should be allowed to stay."

Upset and scared, Ms Myhill said she had no choice but to accept the £69 onthe-spot fine - calculated as double the cost of a single first class fare from London to Colchester - but has refused to pay and is appealing.

"Ironically they told me afterwards that I could have paid a £12 upgrade and sat in first class anyway. To add insult to injury as they left they said I could sit in the compartment because I had now paid the fine - but we had almost reached my destination."

Ms Myhill is waiting to hear from the Independent Appeals Service about her complaint.

A spokesman for National Express East Anglia said: "We are sorry if any customer feels unhappy about their journey with us.

"We will look into the specific circumstances on this particular train and decide what action is appropriate."