Magistrate carried out Tube scam

Jolley has been ordered to pay back London Underground £5,000

A magistrate who carried out a £5,000 Tube ticket scam has been given a suspended sentence.

Terrance Jolley claimed compensation for non-existent underground delays to help pay for trips to London, Southwark Crown Court heard.

Jolley, from Worsborough, Barnsley, admitted obtaining property by deception and attempting to do so.

The 33-year-old, who has been diagnosed with a personality disorder, was given a nine-month suspended sentence.

He also has one year to repay London Underground (LU) £5,000.

Judge Stephen Robbins told him: "You must have been involved in sentencing many people yourself in the past when sitting as a justice of the peace in Yorkshire, until you were dismissed.

He was attempting to get away from Barnsley where he had something of a sheltered upbringing John Kearney, defending Jolley

"You now find yourself in the dock being sentenced."

The court heard Jolley turned to crime when he began travelling to London regularly in 2003, staying in accommodation in Ilford, east London.

Defending, John Kearney said: "He was attempting to get away from Barnsley, where he had had something of a sheltered upbringing, where he had been bullied at school and where he had spent long periods of time at home with his parents and grandparents."

According to LU's refund policy, if a passenger is delayed by more than 15 minutes they can claim a fare refund on that portion of the journey.

Jolley used his relatives' names on some of the claims, which led to his wife being arrested - she was later released without charge.

He was eventually caught when he complained to London Underground's managing director Tim O'Toole about the speed of the refunds.

This prompted an investigation which revealed some 2,000 claims had been made from Jolley's Yorkshire address between 2003 and 2006.

He admitted two counts of obtaining property by deception and one of attempting to do so.