A PREGNANT woman was fined and told to prove she was expecting when she sat in first class on a packed train.

Staff on the Greater Anglia journey from London Liverpool Street to Shenfield, Essex, slapped the woman with a penalty fare and demanded medical proof of pregnancy despite fellow passengers claiming she was "heavily with child".

The Mayor of Basildon, David Dadds who saw the incident said: "The inspector asked if the woman had a doctor's note to prove she was pregnant, when she was so heavily with child.

"He then told her other people in the first class carriage would not be happy with her sitting there, I then said we had no problem and people agreed with me.

"I asked if he could use discretion but he refused, he said the woman should ask someone to give up their seat for her.

"I would give up my seat, and think other gentlemen would too.

"I just thought it was so disrespectful to the woman and showed no empathy to her.

"The way he dealt with it was not appropriate at all.

"I don't understand why the train company wanted to see a letter to prove her pregnancy."

He later slammed Greater Anglia's treatment of the woman on Twitter, saying he was "appalled" by the way the passenger was treated by train staff.

A Greater Anglia spokesperson said: "We are very sorry to hear this and would like to apologise to the passenger involved.

"We will be fully investigating this incident and reminding our on train teams to use compassion when dealing with situations like this in future.

"We have a policy in place that offers pregnant season ticket holders a letter of authority to travel in First Class for the final eight weeks of their pregnancy, but on all other occasions, we would expect staff to use their discretion to ensure that customers are comfortable on their journeys, especially if they are pregnant or have other specific needs, as is set out in the provisions of the National Conditions of Carriage.

"The passenger involved remained in her First Class seat for the entirety of her journey and the penalty fare notice has been cancelled."