A RAILWAY fare evader lied about his name and address and landed a WGC man with a letter threatening prosecution.

The man was caught by a ticket inspector on a train on October 16.

The inspector took down his details, but the address of Glyn Mason, who lives in Cole Green Lane WGC, was given along with the name David Smith.

The fare evader, whose real name has never been established, got off the train at WGC station.

Four days later, Mr Mason received the letter from First Capital Connect (FCC), which warned he could face a criminal record, prison sentence or a fine of up to �1,000.

Mr Mason, who ripped up the letter in disgust before taping it back together, told the WHT: “Why didn’t they just ask for ID?

“I’ve been to the station and phoned them [FCC] up and asked to see the CCTV because I was in Stevenage at the time.”

A spokeswoman for FCC said the address checks they run use another company based in Portsmouth, which accesses the electoral roll.

And because of the Data Protection Act the other company could not match up names with addresses, leaving the system open to abuse. She said no further action would be taken and said she was “sorry” Mr Mason had been dragged into the situation.