SOME unlikely culprits have been caught in the net as a York train company clamps down on fare evaders.

Arriva Trains Northern is determined to hit hard those passengers who "take fellow passengers for a ride".

As well as finding fare dodgers, a team of inspectors has also discovered that some evaders are buying tickets for shorter distances than actually travelled.

In one exercise, they caught a solicitor, a doctor, two bank clerks and an accountant for "short fares".

They were prosecuted and landed a criminal record as well as fines when they appeared before magistrates.

Phil Cook, prosecutor for Arriva, said: "It's not just kids or certain groups that are trying to evade fares, it's professionals.

"And this is not a victimless crime - everybody pays by subsidising those who fail to buy a ticket - and it deprives the system of potential future development.

"Often it is small sums - sometimes as little as 50 pence - that is involved. But, on a network the size of ours across the North of England, it adds up to a bigger issue, and we have our own prosecutions team dedicated to taking action."

Updated: 11:03 Monday, April 14, 2003