ONE man has been banned from using the railway after officers from Huntingdon and St Neots joined forces with the British Transport Police to target criminals. The joint operation, which took place on Thursday June 28 and also involved First Connect, saw

ONE man has been banned from using the railway after officers from Huntingdon and St Neots joined forces with the British Transport Police to target criminals.

The joint operation, which took place on Thursday June 28 and also involved First Connect, saw officers patrolling the stations and travelling on board trains.

During the day officers patrolled the car parks, handing out 32 vehicle alerts to people who had left property on show in their car.

The vehicle alert scheme works by police sending letters to those who have left property on display in their vehicle warning them of the implications of leaving valuables in their vehicle.

Officers also spent the day gathering intelligence on criminals known to use the railway to facilitate their criminal activity.

Pc Luke Coulson, who was involved in the operation, said: "The operation was about joining forces with our colleagues at the British Transport Police to create a stronger crime fighting team.

"We are aware that a number of criminals are using the trains to facilitate their criminal activity and this operation was about targeting those individuals."

During the day a number of people were issued with fines for failing to purchase a ticket before travelling and one man was banned from using the railway after continually evading the fares.

PC Coulson added: "We will continue to hold these high profile operations as we work to disrupt the lives of criminals in Huntingdonshire and put and end to their criminality.

"We will not stop in our efforts to make Huntingdonshire a safer place for those who live in and visit the area.