Train bosses probe 'racist announcement' at Tyne and Wear Metro station

'Racism row': Train bosses are investigating after an allegedly racist announcement was made at Wallsend station
Paul Robertson/Flickr
Fiona Simpson16 November 2016

A train operator has been forced to apologise after an alleged racist remark was made over the tannoy at a station.

The incident took place at the Wallsend stop of the Tyne and Wear Metro, when an eastern European man was allegedly begging passengers for money.

An announcement made over the PA system, at the station near Newcastle, said: "We've had numerous complaints about your behaviour demanding money and begging.

"You might do it in your country but you're not doing it in here."

Metro bosses said they were taking the remarks very seriously and an investigation has been launched.

Paul Walker, customer service director at DB Regio Tyne and Wear, which operates Metro on behalf of Nexus, said: "We are aware a member of our staff made a tannoy announcement at Wallsend Metro station which may be deemed inappropriate.

"We would like to apologise for any offence caused and can assure customers that reports of inappropriate or offensive behaviour by staff are taken very seriously.

"A full investigation into the matter is currently ongoing to establish the facts and, based on the outcome, appropriate action will be taken."

They said the station is not staffed and so a combination of CCTV and the PA system is used to monitor platforms.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in