A train passenger who faces a criminal record and hefty fine for using an out-of-date railcard 30 times has bemoaned the punishment is ‘unfair’. The accused woman has racked up a bill of £1,100 pounds for her misuse of the card but insists this was a ‘human mistake’ and questioned why no one alerted her to the card expiring. Tash Bacarese-Hamilton, 22, from Wimbledon in London, told of how she had already been crying when she got on the train having just come from a funeral but that her grief was compounded when the ticket inspector arrived.

With colder weather forecast this week for much of the country, temperatures are beginning to plummet after a mild start to autumn. Earlier this morning, snow hit London with sleet blanketing the capital as an Arctic chill blasts Britain. Drivers have reported getting stuck on roads, trains have been cancelled and warnings of more icy weather ahead have been issued as temperatures plunged to -11.2C.