Scotrail No Ticket Video - Man Gets Thrown off Train

They say everybody gets their 15 minutes of fame, but what happened on a late night train in Scotland, where a man with no ticket gets thrown off a Scotrail train by a burly passenger, has created ininternet sensation.

A passenger on the train, Ian Hems, took out his mobile phone and videoed events after the train had been stationary at a platform for about 10 minutes, while the elderly ticket inspector tried to eject a passenger who had an invalid ticket.

The young man refuses to leave the train.

It is late evening.

People are tired and cold and want to get home, but the inspector is adamant that the train isn't moving until the young man gets off.

What follows is 2.34 minutes of events which are central to the story, so please watch it.

If you watch the video, you will see that the young man, who turned out to be 19 year old Edinburgh Heriot-Watt University student Sam Main, did not in fact have a valid ticket.

As the inspector said, his ticket was a single for Polmont to Edinburgh Park. This was the return journey train, Edinburgh Park to Polmont.

It was midnight. Sam Main had been drinking, and while is manner seemed non-threatening, his language was atrocious, swearing at the inspector.

You will have noticed in the video there were young children on board the carriage, and it is never acceptable to swear in front of other people's children.

The 'Big Man' stepped up, offered to throw the man physically off the train, to which the inspector acquiesced, held Sam Main firmly and marched him off the train.

On the way down the aisle, although the camera doesn't fully catch events, Sam Main fell, grabbing a woman passenger's jacket on the way down, and The Big Man half fell too, but apologised to passengers.

Once on the platform, Sam Main tried to get back on the train, but he can be clearly heard saying he had left stuff on-board, but his bag had already been tossed off by another passenger. This is also caught on camera.

This video was picked up by the Press, and the question was asked "Who is the Big Man?"

He was hailed a hero by the train passengers who were relieved to finally see the train get moving so they could get home,

To most of those watching the video, the Big Man was indeed a hero. He pulled no punches, and did not swear, but just used his brute strength to evict the non-paying passenger and manhandle him off the train.

Don't forget Sam Main has repeatedly refused to get off the train when requested to do so by the ticket inspector.

The Big Man turned out to be 35 year old Alan Pollock, a married father of 3 who worked as an investment banker in the city of Edinburgh.

The next day again, Sam Main's father is quoted in the Press saying he is proud of his son, that he hadn't done anything wrong - only that Scotrail employees had made a mistake when he had bought his ticket earlier that day. He also went on to say that his son was diabetic, and that his medication and money was in his bag.

If he had money in his bag, why not pay the fare? And being diabetic obviously didn't stop him drinking alcohol!

Yet others pointed out that if this was their son, they would have been ashamed of his behaviour, swearing at an elderly ticket inspector and refusing to get off the train when requested.

The following day again, Alan Pollock's father was quoted in the Press saying he was proud of his son, who he had brought up to know right from wrong.

A huge internet row has broken out.

We have Facebook pages demanding medals for Alan Pollock, and others demanding he is charged with assault.

The sad fact is that all three men featured in this video - the fair dodger, the ticket inspector and the Big Man could all find themselves in deep trouble.

• The fare dodger, obviously, for travelling on a train without a valid ticket, and perhaps for "Breach of the Peace" which is a public disorder offence which covers a multitude of things, and will almost certainly includes swearing in public. It could also be said that he has brought his university into disrepute.
• The ticket inspector for not following procedure, which was to allow the young man to remain where he was, and phone ahead for the Transport Police to meet the train at the next station, and let them deal with the situation.
• The Big Man for forcibly removing the fare dodger. Technically, this is assault because he touched him. There are stories being bandied about in the newspapers that the police have charged him with Assault, but this has not been confirmed at this point in time.

We sincerely hope that this matter is now dropped.

None of us would even have heard about this incident had it not been for 27 year old IT instructor Ian Hems, who uploaded the video footage to YouTube.

Sam Main could go back to his studies, perhaps a little bit wiser as a result of this event.

The ticket inspector could carry on inspecting tickets as a Scotrail employee, which he may not be for much longer if his bosses decided he handled the situation badly.

Alan Pollock, who is a naturally private man, would not have his privacy invaded and be discussed all over internet forums as alternately a hero or a bully, and now be possibly facing charges which could cost him his livelihood.

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The latest episode in this story is;

The Big Man has been formally invited to Join the US Guardian Angels

The ticket inspector has gone on 'annual leave' a..k.a. suspended pending a Scotrail enquiry.

Read more here - The Daily Record

The Procurator Fiscal has decided all charges against Alan Pollock, (the Big Man in what has been dubbed Big Man Gate), are dropped, as a prosecution would not be in the interests of the public.

The train ticket collector, 63 year old Alan Mitchell, has returned to work after a six week leave on sick pay. He faces no disciplinary actions.

The man who caused it all, 19 year old Sam Main, faces no charges.

The case is now closed.

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