‘Big man’ will not be prosecuted over train incident

By CHRIS MARSHALL
Published on Thursday 9 February 2012 00:00

HE WAS the man lauded as a hero for ejecting an alleged fair dodger from a train, but faced the prospect of criminal prosecution for his actions.

But yesterday the “Big Man” Alan Pollock was told that the case against him – and Sam Main, the student he removed from the Edinburgh-Perth train on 9 December last year – had been dropped.

After The Crown Office confirmed last night that no criminal proceedings would be brought against either man, Mr Pollock’s father said he was glad that “the nightmare is over”.

The 35-year-old performance manager from Stirling won cult status after another passenger filmed the incident at on his mobile phone.

Following a stand-off between the train’s conductor, 63-year-old Alan Mitchell, and Mr Main, Mr Pollock could be seen in the video asking: “Do you want me to get him off for you?”, before appearing to grab the other man by the shoulders and move him to the door and on to the platform.

Fellow passengers are shown to be applauding the ejection from the train, while the removed passenger tries to get back on, before having his way blocked.

Mr Pollock’s father said the whole episode had been a “nightmare” for the family last night.

Jim Pollock, a retired accountant from Wishaw, said: “It’s like the nightmare is over. It’s very good news – I’m glad to hear it.

“We don’t have to have this hanging over our heads any more. It’s always in the back of your mind.”

Mr Pollock had backed his son following the incident, saying he raised him to know right from wrong.

He said at the time: “Do you turn your face the other way when something has happened, if somebody got stabbed in the street?

“It’s very out of character for Alan. He must have been pushed to the limit. I was a wee bit disappointed no-one actually got up and helped him.”

However, the mother of Mr Main last night said she had been under the impression that Mr Pollock was going to be prosecuted for his actions.

Angela Main, speaking from her home in Falkirk, said she, Sam, and her husband Lenny, a hanging basket salesman, had already been told been that Sam was in the clear, but had understood that Mr Pollock would face court.

Mrs Main, 43, a trainee carer, said: “We already knew that Sam wasn’t getting charged, and we had been told that the Big Man was getting charged. We’re not wanting to speak about it now, anyway.”

She added: “Sam’s not in, but Sam will not be speaking either. He’s been through enough.”

No-one was home at Mr Pollock’s address at Queens Haugh, in Stirling’s Riverside district last night, and neighbours revealed he and his family had left the rented property weeks after the incident.

One neighbour said: “The Big Man moved away about a month ago. Alan and his family were only renting anyway, but they’ve moved and the house is empty now. I don’t know where they went.”

Another local man, who asked not to be named, said: “I’m glad the charges have been dropped against the Big Man. He did what many people like to think they would do in that situation, and because of that there was a lot of support for him in Riverside.

“A lot of people will be happy he’s in the clear.”

A spokesman for the Crown Office said: “The procurator-fiscal at Livingston received reports concerning two males aged 35 and 19, in connection with an incident in Linlithgow on Friday 9 December, 2011.

“After full and careful consideration of the reports by Crown Counsel, it was decided that it is not in the public interest to prosecute either male, and the cases are now closed.”

Labour’s justice spokesman, Lewis MacDonald, said: “It seems to me that common sense has prevailed. Too many people face threats and intimidation during the course of their work, and I think it would have been very sad if the message had gone out that the public should do nothing about that.

“In relation to the other man, the Crown Office has come to its conclusion and I certainly haven’t seen anything to prove they’re wrong on that,” he added. “People should be able to carry out their work without threats and intimidation, and I suspect this young man will have learned a lot from this experience.

“Hopefully his name won’t appear again in reports of this kind.”

A ScotRail spokesman said: “We note the Crown Office statement.”