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Britain's second largest train operator is using new technology to catch fare dodgers.

Northern said it would install a system within station barriers at "known hotspots" which will automatically detect whether a ticket is valid.

It will also alert staff if additional checks are required and whether the passenger has the appropriate railcard.

Some 180 fare dodgers were caught in one day during a trial of the system at Manchester Victoria station last month.

Northern's Customer and Commercial Director Mark Powles said: "This technology will be invaluable for our gate line and revenue protection colleagues whose job it is to ensure ticket checks are carried out quickly and efficiently.

"Unfortunately, we know that a small minority of customers try to exploit the automated nature of barrier checks to travel on tickets they know they're not eligible to use."

He said the kit was "very easy" to install and could be "deployed to known hotspots across the whole network to help tackle this fraudulent activity".

Northern serves more than 500 stations across northern England.

Industry body the Rail Delivery Group estimates that around £240m is lost through fare evasion on Britain's railways each year.

The Department for Transport announced last month that the fine for travelling on a train in England without a valid ticket will increase from £20 to £100 from 23 January.

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