Pair fined $75 for getting off train early

Southampton, England -- A British couple said they were outraged to be fined $175 for getting off their train two stops early.

Emma Clark and fiance Davyd Winter-Bates said they each purchased discounted $9 tickets to travel back to Southampton, England, from a London vacation but they decided to get off early in Eastleigh, England, to meet some friends for lunch, The Sun reported Monday.

The pair said they gave their tickets to an agent at the Eastleigh stop and were told they had violated the rules by getting off before their destination.

They were fined a total $175, amounting to twice the amount of two normal tickets.

"It is utter madness. I could understand being fined if I had stayed on the train two stops beyond my destination," Clark said.

A spokesman for Stagecoach, which operates the trains, said the fine is standard procedure for getting off at the wrong stop with specially discounted tickets.

Copyright 2010 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).

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