Rampage on the rails: Sheffield chaos ends in prison sentence

A man whose actions brought large parts of the railway network in Sheffield to a standstill has been jailed following an investigation by British Transport Police.

Gary Cawthorne, 40, of Norfolk Park Road, was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday 6 March. He had previously admitted charges of obstructing the railway, affray and assault.

The court heard how the incident began at around 4pm on 16 January 2025, when Cawthorne entered Sheffield station and launched an unprovoked attack on a man, striking him in the face and leaving him with a split lip.

A Police Community Support Officer from BTP was alerted and began searching the station, eventually locating Cawthorne on board a waiting train. When asked to step off so officers could take his details, he fled the carriage and made his way onto the tracks.

He then attempted to access nearby tunnels before climbing onto a large electrical circuit box close to the railway. Armed with a railway bolt, Cawthorne began swinging it at officers and paramedics as they tried to bring the situation under control, ignoring repeated instructions to come down.

His behaviour forced authorities to halt rail services in the area to ensure the safety of both emergency responders and the public. The standoff lasted for around four hours before he eventually descended and was arrested.

The disruption was widespread, with 36 trains cancelled, a further 65 part-cancelled, and delays totalling more than 50 hours across the network.

BTP Sergeant Roy Percival said:

“Cawthorne now has a significant amount of time to think about his actions, which endangered both himself and others. The consequences were felt by thousands of people, and this sentence sends a clear message that this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated and can result in jail time.”

Karen Duffy, Network Rail operations director, said:

“Cawthorne’s reckless actions caused significant disruption to the rail network and had a huge impact on passengers and railway colleagues. Trespass on the railway is extremely dangerous because it puts not only the offender’s life at risk, but also those of the teams who respond to incidents. We welcome this court result and hope that it serves as a clear reminder that behaviour like this is completely unacceptable.”

British Transport Police