A 54-YEAR-OLD train fare dodger ran up fines of £30,000 over seven years.

Nicholas Tooley would have spent less than £5,000 if he had paid the fares at today's rates, an Exeter court heard.

But he could not explain why he only sometimes paid the fares to visit family in Teignmouth from his home in Exeter.

District Judge Stuart Smith explained the 'madness of the situation you are in' by saying he owed £30,012.90p in unpaid fares, court fines and costs over the seven year period from April 2017.

He said if Tooley had paid the £6.60p fares - in 2017 they were only £1.80p - he would have shelled out less than £5,000.

Exeter magistrates court heard that Tooley, of Alphington Road, Exeter, has paid £2,100 of the £30,000.

But that ‘staggering sum’ had been remitted down to £14,517.30p.

District Judge Smith said: ‘This obviously cannot continue.

‘If you want to get a train, you pay for tickets.

‘How crazy that situation is, you owe a staggering amount of money well outside your capacity.’

He said he would reduce what Tooley owes to £1,154.30p which covers the period of July and August this year.

The judge told Tooley, who lives on Universal Credit, that he should make this the last time he comes before the court for non payment of rail fares.

The judge said: ‘This is a clean slate. Pay for each one, if you cannot afford it, don't get on the train.’