Man fined for racist abuse of railway station employee

The Lancashire Telegraph reports on the court appearance of a man who racially abused a Muslim ticket inspector at Blackburn railway station after being told he would need to go through ticket inspection.

Peter Eccles, 56, has made the same commuter journey from Blackburn to Halifax for 30 years and was well known to station staff. Staff at the station were familiar with Eccles’ routine of walking round the barriers every day and exiting the station to get to his parked car.

Blackburn magistrates’ court heard that on the day of the incident Mohammed Javid was inspecting tickets at the station and Eccles was told he would have to walk through the barriers and have his ticket inspected.

Prosecutor Catherine Allan told the court: “On this occasion he was told he had to walk round and have his ticket checked. He became abusive and suggested to Mr Javid that he should go back to his own country.”

Colleen Dickinson-Jones, acting for Mr Eccles, said that her client had made the same journey for 30 years, arriving at Blackburn railway station at the same time and was well known among station staff. She said Mr Eccles was “frustrated at having to wait to have his ticket checked but accepts that is no excuse for the words he used.”

Eccles pleaded guilty to racially aggravated threatening behaviour. He was fined £350 and ordered to pay £50 compensation to Mr Javid, £85 costs and £30 victim surcharge.