A train passenger was outraged after a train carriage was trashed by drunken revellers travelling between Exeter and Barnstaple.
The man, from Barnstaple who does not wish to be named, said he had an 'unpleasant experience' while travelling to Exeter St Davids on Saturday (April 13) afternoon.
The man, who caught the 5.10pm train from Barnstaple to Exeter explained that there was 'quite a crowd at Umberleigh' who were drunk and causing a 'racket'.
"The group of men climbed into the carriage I was in, spreading along the middle. Soon they began to sing, men in a high state of inebriation rarely sing well," he said.
"In fact, they bellowed. The same word, well-known to many sports fans, over and over again, which, perhaps, was fortunate.
"Standing up seemed to enable them to bellow even louder and standing on the seats made them louder still. Bashing the metal luggage racks doubled the din and banging the carriage ceiling raised the decibels yet further.
"Carrying one another, piggy-back style, seemed to help as well. This became wrestling, with bodies crashing to the floor or, possibly more painfully, across the seat backs.
"One younger fellow, brought down heavily by another even larger, crashed his head against the carriage side. Another couple of inches and he would surely have broken his neck."
The passenger went on to say that the train made an emergency stop at Eggesford and as the 'racket' continued, he moved to another carriage.
On his return journey the passenger got on the 9pm train to Barnstaple from St Davids where he found part of the train cordoned off due to the carriage being vandalised.
He said that the its interior had been completely trashed.
He added: "A couple of the bays were cordoned off and the bases of several seats rested on the carriage floor I took little notice of this, however, and anticipated a reasonably pleasant journey.
"At Barnstaple I saw that the front carriage had been kept unused throughout. A glance inside showed why, it's interior had been trashed.
"Many of its seats had been torn out and its floor would have to be disinfected and thoroughly washed, making it usable again would clearly be costly."
The passenger went onto explain that drunken behaviour has moved from the streets to the trains and passengers shouldn't have to put up with it.
He said: "Rowdy and destructive behaviour on two trains on just one day.
"Common to both were large groups of men and alcohol and possibly the Rail Ale Trails once promoted by the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership to encourage use of the trains.
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"Nobody wants to be a killjoy, but genuine passengers have rights too. No lone ticket collector could reasonably be expected to keep such behaviour within bounds. His - or her - priority must be to keep the rest of the passengers safe.
"But it is surely time for the powers-that-be to recognise that the drunken behaviour once common to the streets of Barnstaple and elsewhere has shifted to our trains, where the chances of police intervention are very low indeed."
Great Western Railway has been approached for a comment.
