THOUSANDS of prosecutions for alleged fare evasion brought by train companies are set to be declared void after a judge's ruling.

It includes hundreds if not thousands involving defendants from Warrington, a well as those prosecuted for offences at train stations in the town.

Train companies including Northern brought prosecutions against thousands of passengers using the single justice procedure (SJP), despite not being permitted to do so.

At a hearing in June, chief magistrate Paul Goldspring told Westminster Magistrates’ Court that he believed the prosecutions were ‘void’ and ‘probably unlawful’.

Lawyers for rail companies told a further hearing last month that they were ‘in agreement’ the cases should be quashed.

In a ruling at the same court on Thursday, Judge Goldspring said that six ‘test cases’ should be declared a ‘nullity’, which meant ‘as if as though the proceedings never existed’.

Giving a summary of his judgment, he said: "Parliament did not envisage these offences being prosecuted through the SJP.

"They should never have been brought through that process. This is, to my mind, a paradigm nullity."

He continued: "I am satisfied that the correct approach is to declare each of the prosecutions void and a nullity."

The exact number of those affected is unknown, with a previous hearing told that around 75,000 people could have been prosecuted for fare evasion offences under the SJP.

Judge Goldspring said attempts would be made to identify those affected in the coming weeks, with a further hearing to be held later this year, during which their prosecutions would also be declared void.

Following the ruling, a Northern spokesman said: "We welcome the judgment of the chief magistrate in court. We would like to apologise again for the errors that have occurred.

"We will now work with the court to implement today's findings. We are unable to respond to individual inquiries in the meantime.

"Northern remains committed to ensuring that all our customers are treated fairly, which means ensuring all passengers who board our trains have a valid ticket."