THREE people from Worcestershire were caught fare dodging on Central Trains last month.

It comes as the train operator announced the number of fare dodgers on its service had reached an all-time low.

Throughout April, 79 people were prosecuted for failing to pay or produce a valid ticket when asked, paying a total £15,504 in fines, costs and compensation.

Vicki Carswell, aged 26, of Drake Avenue, St John's, Worcester, and Simon Edge, also 26, of Drake Avenue, were both fined £204, while Stephan Moore, 19, of Chester Road North, Kidderminster, was fined £253 for fare dodging.

The identities of those caught fare dodging have been released by Central Trains as a part of the company's name-and-shame campaign, which started in March 2006.

Since then, more than 3,600 people have been taken to court and made to pay more than £80,000 in fines, penalty fares, and costs.

During the first three months of 2007, figures compiled by Centro - which promotes local transport in the West Midlands - show only two per cent of Central Trains passengers failed to buy tickets. Since 2005, Central Trains has brought the percentage down from five per cent.

Central Trains, which is part of the National Express Group, has also created a specialist squad to crackdown on fare dodging.

Russell Price, head of revenue protection, said: "This is a tremendous achievement.

"Thanks to the initiatives brought in, such as the penalty fare system, the name-and-shame campaign and the barriers at Birmingham New Street, fewer and fewer people are costing the rest of us money by travelling dishonestly and not paying."