A 35 year old man has been jailed for six months after punching a security guard and assaulting three police officers, following a British Transport Police investigation.
Thomas John Murphy, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to assault, criminal damage and three counts of assaulting an emergency worker.
He was sentenced to six months behind bars and ordered to pay a total of £150 in compensation by Wirral magistrates on Monday, 29 March.
The court heard how on Friday, 26 March an intoxicated Murphy was asked to leave the train by Carlisle Security officers working for Merseyrail as he was drinking alcohol and became abusive when the officers told him the booze would need to be confiscated if he wished to continue his journey.
Under the railway byelaw it is illegal to drink alcohol on a Merseyrail service.
Murphy lashed out at the security guard, punching him directly to the side of his face.
British Transport Police officers attended and arrested Murphy on suspicion of assault.
During his arrest Murphy attempted to trip the officers and became increasingly abusive and threatening and had to be restrained several times.
While being taken into custody, Murphy again became aggressive and abusive, kicking at officers.
In interview he claimed he couldn’t remember anything before hitting his head against the wall several times.
Chief Inspector Dave Rams said, “No-one deserves to be assaulted or abused while carrying out their job. Murphy was given the choice to either leave the train with the alcohol or give it up and continue his journey.
“His response was to become abusive and assault one of the security officers. He continued his tirade of abuse towards police officers before physically assaulting them.
“Behaviour like this is completely intolerable and we will continue to do everything we can to investigate violent offenders like this and bring them to justice.”
Andy Heath, Managing Director at Merseyrail, said, “Any sort of abuse directed towards our staff or partners is totally unacceptable and we work hard with the British Transport Police to avoid any instances such as this one.
“It is an offence to consume alcohol on our trains and this incident shows exactly why this byelaw is in place to protect both our staff and our passengers.
“I hope this sentence serves as a deterrent to anyone who intends on abusing or assaulting a member of our staff or any of our partners working on the network who work tirelessly to protect those travelling with us.”
Have you got a Wirral story? Email news@birkenhead.news
Like the birkenhead.news Facebook page and follow @BirkenheadNews on Twitter
Read more birkenhead.news articles.
Facebook Comments