Mum horrified after son, 15, 'thrown off train' on way to school

24 November 2023 , 09:10

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Mum horrified after son, 15, 'thrown off train' on way to school

An investigation has been launched after a train conductor appeared to pick up a teenager and throw him off the train with "brutal force" as he tried to find his ticket.

Marley, 15, was on his way to school with his twin sister when they boarded the Wigan train at around 8.30am on Wednesday. Their mother Jennifer said she bought their tickets on the Trainline app that morning and emailed them both virtual copies. But Marley struggled to load his straight away due to limited wi-fi connection.

Footage taken by his sister filmed the Northern conductor grab the schoolboy as he plead "do not touch me. Get off me now" as the conductor seems to pull him out of his seat and shove him onto the platform at Gathurst. Marley was left with a torn sleeve off his coat after the confrontation.

Jennifer says her son Marley was unnecessarily dragged off a Northern train by a conductor (Northern Rail)

Jennifer, 40, said she felt "so shook up" after her daughter rang her crying as she begged her to pick her up, reports Liverpool Echo. "It was absolutely shocking. Just brutal force, not even trying to guide him off," the mum said. "You can see Marley trying to load up his ticket - you can clearly see him doing it in the video. He wasn't getting mad. But (the conductor) just picked him up and chucked him off the train. They were stuck at the train station and [ my daughter ] rang me crying, saying please come and pick us up. I don't know what to do now because they get the train every day, but I don't want them on the train if they're going to come up against him. I've contacted Northern but there's nothing being done right now, it's a process. I'm worried now to let them go on the train."

The conductor seemed to pull the boy off the seat (Supplied)

He appeared to drag him using 'full force' (Supplied)

After seeming to push Marley onto the platform, the conductor can be heard saying: "Off my train now. I asked you politely. On camera, I asked you politely." Marley then pushes the man as he steps back onto the train, leaving the two teenagers outside. Jennifer said: "I felt absolutely so shook up. I was so upset and shaken. There was no need for it at all. It was shocking, and I feel even worse having contacted police, because they didn't seem interested."

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She said she was instructed to contact British Transport Police, the special force that polices the railway network, and waited for 45 minutes on the phone before submitting her report online. She also reported the incident to Northern. She said: "I just feel there should be consequences. He should not be working in a place like that if he is going to treat minors this way. Even if Marley wasn't a child, it would be bad enough anyway. Marley is really shook up. Usually he is a confident lad but he was really shocked. He didn't expect it for one second. He's worried about getting the train again and bumping into him. If Marley had done that to a conductor I would've had police at my door within an hour. I feel like because it's the other way around, nobody cares and it's not a big issue."

The schoolboy was dumped at Gathurst (Supplied)

The boy seemed to push back near the end of the dispute (Supplied)

Craig Harrop, regional director for Northern, said: “We are aware of the incident at Gathurst station on Wednesday 22 November and have seen the footage that has been shared on social media. We are in the process of conducting an internal investigation and have already spoken to the conductor of the service in question and will be reviewing the CCTV footage from the station.” A British Transport Police spokesman said: "Officers are currently investigating reports of an assault on board a Northern Rail service toward Wigan in the morning of Wednesday, November 22. Enquiries into this incident are ongoing, with BTP liaising with Northern Rail. Anyone with information is asked to contact BTP by texting 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40, quoting reference 328 of November 22 2023."

Monica Charsley