Fare dodgers on Connex train services have been fined a total of £10,580 by magistrates over the past month.

Courts in Sussex and London have fined 153 people found guilty of fare dodging and also ordered them to pay a total of £13,559 in costs and compensation.

Teams of plain clothes ticket inspectors took part in Operation Short Ticket, intended to catch people who buy a ticket to the next station but stay on board the train.

Commercial director Glen Charles said: "When people evade payment of their correct fare for their journeys everyone else pays for them."

Connex successfully prosecuted more than 5,000 fare dodgers last year. The company estimates fraud costs it £30 million a year.