A FARE dodger will have to pay nearly 80 times the cost of the ticket she avoided buying.

Sophie Stamp, of Overton Green in Frodsham, has been ordered to pay a total of £490.20 after refusing to pay for a £6.20 train ticket.

Sarah Henderson, prosecutor for Northern Rail, explained that the 33-year-old travelled from Frodsham to Liverpool South Parkway on August 29 last year without a ticket.

Stamp was stopped at the Liverpool station by a revenue protection officer, who appeared at Warrington Magistrates Court on Wednesday (May 8) to give evidence.

He said Stamp wasn’t able to produce a ticket when asked and didn’t have any excuse for not purchasing one.

The officer issued her a travel incident report.

This report was then recorded by Samantha Thornton, an investigator in Northern’s debt recovery office.

A statement from Ms Thornton was read aloud in court, explaining that Stamp had been sent a letter requesting payment of just the £6.20 fare on September 7.

With no payment received, a fixed penalty notice was issued to Stamp.

However, Northern still received no response from her regarding the matter.

Ms Thornton also confirmed that the ticket vending machine at Frodsham was in “full working order” on August 29.

Ms Henderson added: “Stamp has been given ample opportunity to respond and we have heard nothing from her.”

Stamp pleaded not guilty on March 18, with a trial set for May 8 at Warrington Magistrates Court.

However, she failed to attend the hearing and the case proceeded in her absence.

The magistrates subsequently fined Stamp £60 and ordered her to pay £400 in costs as well as a £24 victim surcharge and compensation in the form of the £6.20 fare.

She will have to pay the total of £490.20 within 28 days.