Train incident: ‘Big man’ charged with assault

A man who removed a teenager from a train in an incident which later became an internet hit has been charged by police with assault, it has been confirmed.

The alleged incident, which received more than a million views on YouTube after it was filmed by a passenger on his mobile phone, happened at Linlithgow station on ScotRail’s Edinburgh Waverley to Perth service on Friday December 9.

It shows a passenger, Sam Main, 19, speaking to a conductor over an alleged unpaid fare, before he was removed from the train by another passenger, who has been dubbed the ‘big man’.

Alan Pollock, 35, from Stirling, was named locally as the man who allegedly stepped in and removed Mr Main from the train.

British Transport Police today announced that Mr Pollock faces an assault charge.

Mr Main has not been charged, but both men have been reported to the procurator fiscal.

A spokesman said: “British Transport Police can now confirm that a 35-year-old man from Stirling and a 19-year-old man from Falkirk are the subject of a report to the local procurator fiscal in connection with an incident on board the 9.33pm Edinburgh Waverley to Perth service, at Linlithgow on Friday December 9 2011.”

A Crown Office spokesman said: “The procurator fiscal at Livingston has received reports concerning two males in connection with an incident in Linlithgow on Friday December 9 2011.

“The reports remain under consideration by the procurator fiscal.”