Transport Police stepping up its efforts to ensure Chester racegoers have trouble free journeys

British Transport Police (BTP) is stepping up its efforts to ensure North Wales racegoers and other passengers have trouble-free journeys.

Saturday’s meeting at Chester are the last of the summer holiday period – with three more fixtures in September bringing to a close the 2014 season – and officers are expecting it to be a busy event.

Sergeant Tony Stamp, of British Transport Police, said:

“Chester Races is always an extremely popular occasion for North Wales racing fans. The accessibility and convenience of the area’s rail network mean people can get to and from the course quickly and easily, and each year we welcome thousands of racegoers onto the rail network.

“The vast majority of people enjoy a great day of racing – including having a few drinks – and head back home without any fuss. Sadly, a small minority take the drinking a little too far and, when drunk, have become aggressive and abusive toward staff and other passengers. On those few occasions we have had to step in and take action against the aggressors – spoiling their day out.

“Racegoers who have consumed too much alcohol do not just pose a risk to other travellers and staff, they also put themselves in vulnerable positions. During the past few years, we have seen incidents in which drunken people have fallen over and injured themselves following a day of racing.

Sgt Stamp added:

“The North Wales rail network is a low crime environment, which provides a safe way to travel. Millions of incident-free passenger journeys are made every year and crime is down for the tenth year in succession.

To highlight the issue, officers have released CCTV images of a person they would like to speak to in connection with an incident at Llandudno Junction railway station on Thursday, 12 June, where a woman was seen to defecate on the platform after getting off a train at around 9.45pm. She then left the station, leaving staff to clean up the mess.

British Transport Police officers would like to speak to this woman.

Can you identify the woman in these photographs? Do you know her current whereabouts?

Anyone with information should contact British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40 or text61016 quoting background reference WSUB/B5 of 29/08/2014.

Information can also be passed to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.