AN amazing video showing a fare-dodger being hauled off a ScotRail train by a burly vigilante has become an internet sensation.
The YouTube clip, filmed by a passenger, shows a swearing youngster refusing to pay for his ticket or get off an Edinburgh to Perth service on Friday night.
To the astonishment of the conductor and passengers on the packed train, a heavy-set man gets up from his seat, grabs the boy by the scruff of his neck and dumps him on the platform at Linlithgow, West Lothian.
The vigilante then twice stops the infuriated teenager getting back on the train before returning to his seat – and a round of applause from passengers.
The video has racked up almost 220,000 hits and been ‘liked’ more than two-and-a-half thousand times on YouTube, as well as generating comment videos and parodies.
It begins with an elderly male conductor asking a young man in a woolly hat to leave the Edinburgh to Perth train.
Despite the conductor repeatedly shouting ‘off!’ he refuses to leave the train.
The conductor says: “I can sit here all night, I’m getting paid for this,” and warns the man other passengers will become unhappy.
The man says “I’ve showed you my f***ing ticket”, but the conductor says “That’s Polmont to Edinburgh Park, it should say Edinburgh Park to Polmont, that’s a single.”
The conductor asks the man to stop swearing at him.
The pair argue for a short while, before a large, burly man sitting behind the passenger stands up and asks: “Do you want me to throw him off for you?”
The conductor nods and says ‘yeah.’
The man, given the title ‘the big man’ by Ian Hems, another passenger who uploaded the video, then grabs the unpaying passenger by the arm and hauls him down the passageway.
Stumble
At one point he appears to stumble, and leans over a table, but he apologises and carries on shoving the passenger down the train.
‘The big man’ manages to manhandle him through the train doors, but the young man makes a dash back into the carriage.
He is blocked by the burly, jacket-wearing, passenger and again thrown onto the platform of Linlithgow station.
Another passenger appears to throw the young man’s bag out after him.
The doors of the train eventually shut, and as the vigilante passenger walks back down the passageway he is greeted with claps and calls of ‘cheers, big man’ from the other passengers.
Ian Hems, 27, from Perth, said he filmed the video while coming home after having a few drinks in the pub.
He said: “I thought this could be funny, it’s all kicking off, so I started filming it.
“I’m firmly behind the big man, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. It seems to have started this whole debate about human rights.”
Ian said the vigilante identified himself to other passengers after the incident as “Alan” but revealed no more details about himself.
He added: “I didn’t notice this at first, but the big man went and sat back down in the wee guy’s chair.
“Everyone was swapping email addresses and chatting about it.”
“Scotrail made us fill in forms afterwards, asking about what happened.”
Ian said: “My YouTube inbox is now completely rammed with spam.
“I’ve had journalists from America on asking about the guy who got kicked off.”
The majority of comments on the video site speak in favour of the vigilante passenger.
A YouTube user called PengersCJM said: “The fact is he didn’t pay, he shouldn’t be on the train end of. Got everything that was coming to him.”
Another user added: “He deserved to get thrown out like he did. Clearly the inspector asked him politely to leave the train and the guy starts swearing.
“And if he doesn’t have money TOUGH, maybe he should have thought about how to get home earlier. And why does everyone else have to pay for their tickets and he stays on for free?”
Though some sympathise with the young man who was unceremoniously dumped off the train.
User IcySkeptic said: “This was completely handled incorrectly. They should have called the police or had a system in place before hand rather than relying on some random a****** to be a bouncer.”
Mr Hem’s description says: “No Ticket on Scotrail, Don’t mess with the big man…
“Wido decides to get on the train with no ticket, ticket inspector comes round , no ticket. Stops the train 1 stop before the wee bam’s station…..ENJOY”
A spokesman for British Transport Police said: “We are aware of the YouTube video and our enquiries are ongoing. British Transport Police did not receive a complaint from anyone on the train at the time the incident is believed to have taken place.”
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