TEENAGER Asia Fox has received a full apology after claiming she was bullied and humiliated by a train conductor who accused her of lying about her age.

The 14-year-old from Manea was forced to buy an adult ticket on a train to Peterborough in addition to the child ticket she had already bought at March Railway Station.

Asia has been sent a written apology from train company Cross Country along with a travel voucher for future use. But while the company explained it was also enclosing a cheque for the excess charge of �6.70, it forgot to include it.

Asia’s father Paul said: “I can only think they must have the same incompetent staff in their office as they do on their trains.”

Mr Fox said the senior conductor at the centre of the allegations will be spoken to over how she approaches such situations in future.

Asia was with a friend on a shopping trip when the conductor asked her to produce ID saying she did not believe she was 14. The next day Mr Fox told the Cambs Times: “My daughter arrived at Peterborough Station a victim of intimidation, and humiliation and was verbally abused, bullied and overcharged by the rail company’s member of staff.”

Commenting on the letter of apology, Mr Fox said: “I thought they were protecting a member of staff who had done a terrible wrong. I would have thought a senior conductor would have approached it in a different manner, to talk like that to a 14-year-old school girl was inappropriate.”

Mr Fox said the incident raised the question of what identification a 14-year-old should carry. He said: “There is no way I am going to let my 14-year-old daughter carry her passport around with her and a birth certificate has no photographic proof. The letter has not reassured Asia or myself that it would not happen again but we eagerly await the return of the fare.”