Three men were given £80 on-the-spot fines by British Transport Police after crossing the tracks at Oxford rail station yesterday.

Sgt John Angell, of British Transport Police, said the three men were travelling from Birmingham to the South Coast and were asked to leave their train because they had not bought tickets.

When the train stopped at Oxford at about 2pm they got off to buy tickets but were then ordered to leave the station because their behaviour continued to be abusive, he said.

Shortly before 4.30pm, they climbed over a fence at the rear of the station and crossed the tracks in a bid to catch a train without being noticed, but were spotted by station staff and British Transport Police were called.

Sgt Angell said: “The lines were not electrified at the time but high-speed trains come through the station without stopping, so they endangered their own lives and the lives of rail passengers.”

He added that the incident caused a short delay for rail passengers while the three men were being dealt with.