RAIL passengers caught avoiding to buy tickets for as little as £2.90 have been given huge court fines.

Northern Rail brought prosecutions against seven people from Bolton yesterday.

They were among 16 from across the region who had been caught using public transport without valid tickets.

None of the defendants attended court and five were found guilty in their absence. They were fined £350 and ordered to pay £100 costs. Two pleaded guilty by letter and were given a reduced fine.

They were all caught by conductors and issued with notice to pay within a week.

Andrew McDonough, aged 21, of Ashness Close, Horwich, travelled on a railway in Bolton and failed to pay £3.20 fare on August 3 last year.

Me Mohammed Patel, aged 21, of St Helens Road, Bolton, travelled from Bolton to Blackburn without paying the £5.10 fare on July 9 last year.

Daniel Paxford, aged 23, of The Pewfist, Westhoughton, went from Westhoughton to Bolton and failed to pay the £4.50 fare on August 16 last year.

Pekun Philips, aged 34, of Blackshaw House, Bolton, travelled from Bolton to Manchester Piccadilly without paying the £2.90 fare on August 16 last year.

Marc Wayne, aged 36, of Chorley Old Road, Bolton, failed to pay £11.10 when he travelled from Poulton Le Fylde to Bolton on September 8.

Joseph Peatfield, aged 22, of Alderley Avenue, Bolton, pleaded guilty by letter to travelling from Salford Crescent to Bolton and failing to pay the £3.20 fare on September 1. He was fined £65.

Keith Ribchester, aged 31, of Wingates Grove, Westhoughton, pleaded guilty by letter to failing to pay £2.10 for a trip from Westhoughton to Bolton on June 30 last year. He was fined £135.

A spokesman for Northern Rail said: “Fare evasion costs the rail industry over £400 million every year, money that would otherwise be invested in improving services.”