A man who assaulted and strangled a railway staff member over a ticket disagreement has been jailed.

British Transport Police (BTP) said Mohamed Kadir attacked the rail worker following a dispute at Derby station on 22 May. Detectives said the 29-year-old, of no fixed abode, was challenged by a ticket officer while sitting in first class on a train headed to Birmingham.

Kadir refused to leave the train after being told he did not have a ticket. When the staff member returned with a colleague, he became aggressive, eventually grabbing one of them by the neck and beginning to strangle him while shouting and swearing at another.

Kadir was sentenced to 16 months at Derby Crown Court after being found guilty of non-fatal strangulation.

PC Simon Cantrill, investigating officer, said: “Kadir acted with extreme and unacceptable aggression, violently assaulting a member of rail staff who was only trying to do their job. There is absolutely no place for violence on the railway network, especially towards members of railway staff simply trying to do their job.”

Image: British Transport Police