Terrified travellers were forced to travel in the same carriage as a man who threatened to stab a train guard.

The man became aggressive after being challenged by the guard because he had a child's ticket.

When the guard said he did not believe the man was under the age of 16, he became angry and threatened to stab him.

Student Holly Mathews, 19, of London Street, Worthing, was travelling in the same compartment of the train, from Worthing to Brighton, when the man made the threat.

She said the guard backed off straight away and ran off down the corridor. She quickly picked up her bag and ran after him in fear.

Miss Mathews said the weekend train waited for five minutes at Portslade station but left before police arrived.

She claimed the police were called but she overheard the guard telling passengers they were too busy to come.

She said: "I think it's awful. What if this guy has attacked other people?

"What if I had been on my own on the train at night and he had threatened me?

"I just feel sorry for the guards, they have to travel the night shift all the time and I've heard some of them talking about how it is the worst one and how they fear for their safety.

"If this man is on your train, he could easily come up to you and knife you."

A spokesman for Connex said: "We will not tolerate threats to any member of staff and will continue to work closely with the British Transport Police to stop things like this happening.

"There are occasions when the police do not have the man power to attend every incident, but they are normally quick to act and we have a good working relationship with them."

Last week, a guard was stabbed in the stomach in front of passengers on a train as it travelled through Lancing on its way to Brighton. A man has since been arrested.

British Transport Police and Sussex Police said they had no record of the incident.