Greater Anglia has revealed the range of excuses fare dodgers use for travelling without a ticket.

Responses included 'my dog ate my train ticket' and 'I never pay for travelling on the railway'.

Travelling with no ticket or the wrong ticket can lead to penalty fares and even prosecution in court.

Greater Anglia issues in total between 4,000 to 6,000 penalty fares a month and prosecutes between 500 to 700 people in court.

They have revealed fare dodgers give many reasons for not having a ticket.

Some say they believed they Oyster card was valid at stations beyond Shenfield. Others include 'my wife picked my mine up', 'I have a funeral to go to', 'the ticket office was busy' and 'I left it in my car.'

The most common excuses include 'I thought I could buy at the other end', 'my card would not work' or 'I forgot to renew, I buy one every week.'

Greater Anglia ensure passengers that their revenue staff are informed if ticket machines are out of order or if ticket offices are closed, so when these are used as reasons, they know if they are genuine.

Kim Bucknell, Greater Anglia Head of Revenue Protection, said 'My team has heard all the excuses before.

'They use their discretion in deciding what action to take and have been trained to spot someone who is trying to either get away without paying or travelling on the wrong ticket.'

She added, 'Not paying for a ticket means there is less money to invest in our railway and that prices may go up even further for those who do pay.'

Have you ever heard someone use these excuses on a train? Or have you yourself had to pay a penalty fare? Let us know in the comments below.