Kent railway worker defrauded at least £27,000 using fake train tickets

A rail construction worker who defrauded at least £27,000 using fake train tickets is due to be sentenced.

Rory Stickels was commuting from his Kent home to North London.

He was caught after a suspicious staff member at St Pancras railway station noticed his expired ticket, and then discovered nine other forgeries in his wallet in January last year.

The 45-year-old construction worker, of Queens Road, Romney, was employed for Network Rail through an agency while he was living in Kent, and had "fallen on hard times", according to prosecutor Zahid Hussain at Highbury Magistrates.

"Because of the expense incurred, he made a foolish decision to use what he described as a fraudulent forged ticket to commute to and from home into London, from London back home," said Mr Hussain, explaining how a "discrepancy" was found on an out of date ticket, which then led a rail worker to find nine more fakes, dating back to 2019, inside the builder's wallet.

Mr Hussain said Stickels was supplied by "a third party" every time his fake ticket expired until he was caught and handed over to British Transport Police.

The cost of a real season ticket, from Ashford International to St Pancras, ranges from between £6,000 to £9,000 for high-speed services.The estimated financial cost was between £27,000 to £66,000.

A probation officer told the court Stickels had appeared "upset and tearful" throughout his probation interview.

"It was during the time he was lamenting the difficulty of his daily drive that someone offered him the tickets at a discounted rate. He told me he paid them around £1,000 a year. He told me he was aware they were not 100 per cent legitimate, but he did not know they were forged," said the probation officer.

Stickels lost his railway job but has since regained a construction job. The probation worker also said "he regrets his actions" and now understands the impact of the fraud on the train company and the effect it has on ticket prices.

Stickels was released on unconditional bail ahead of sentencing at Inner London Crown Court at a later date.

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