An Ipswich man was ordered to pay more than £500 in fines and costs for travelling to Stratford on train without a ticket.

Rashid Mbarire, of Elmcroft Road in the town, appeared before Westminster Magistrates' Court in February accused of boarding the Greater Anglia train that runs from Ipswich to London without a ticket. 

Mbarire was charged with travelling on the railway without paying a fare.

The incident in question took place on June 22 last year in Stratford, east London.

The verdict was given in the absence of 30-year-old Mbarire, and he was told to pay a fine of £220. 

Along with the fine he was told to pay compensation of £60.90, a victim surcharge of £88 and costs of £175 – totalling £543.90. 

Travelling without a valid ticket on the railways in the UK is a criminal offence.

Greater Anglia has previously said it is "committed to reducing the level of revenue loss due to fare evasion".