The British Transport Police has announced that a man from Flintshire has been jailed for four months after threatening behaviour towards rail staff.

Lee Paul Thomas, 42, from Leighton Court, was found guilty of two public order offences and was sentenced at Llandudno Magistrates’ Court last month.

The first incident took place on the 3rd December 2020 at Llandudno station. A member of railway staff was checking tickets when Lee barged past him. The member of staff asked Lee for his ticket, which Mr Thomas offered to purchase one.

Mr Thomas went to the ticket office and tried to purchase a ticket from Abergele, the member of staff, who had been on the train, challenged Lee as they knew he didn’t board at Abergele.

Lee then tried and purchase a ticket from Rhyl, but again, the member of staff knew he hadn’t boarded at Rhyl as this station has ticket barriers. The member of staff told Lee they knew he had boarded the train at Shotton and would need to purchase a ticket from there.

Lee then became aggressive towards the member of staff, clenching his fists, accusing the staff member of harassing him, calling the staff member a ‘lesbian’ and implied they “needed to be with a man”.

The British Transport Police were informed of the incident and they circulated CCTV images to officers.

Moving to January 2021 and officers were conducting a train patrol from Colwyn Bay towards Rhyl, when they saw Lee Thomas.

As they recognised him from the CCTV, they approached Lee. Mr Thomas misunderstood what the officers were saying and accused them of calling him ‘queer’ to which he shouted “are you calling me queer” and “do I look like I’m gay”.

After attempts to warn Mr Thomas of his behaviour, and after continued shouting and was removed from the train at Rhyl.

Investigating Officer Jack Payton said: “This type of threatening behaviour will absolutely not be tolerated on the railway and we are grateful to the courts for the sentence imposed.

“We are committed to tackling hate crime and encourage anyone who experiences this type of behaviour to report it.

“If you experience any issues on the railway, you can text BTP discreetly on 61016 or call 0800 40 50 40.”

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