A clever ‘hack’ has been revealed to give all regular commuters the chance to travel first-class on trains without paying or getting in trouble.

If you are a standard ticket holder who regularly crams onto Thameslink trains during rush hour, did you know that the first-class carriage at the back is always declassified?

Commuter Tom Ballard took to Twitter after overhearing this could be the case.

He tweeted to Thameslink: "Morning. On 0600 train from Bedford to Brighton and overheard that the first class portion at the back of the train is always declassified. Is this true?"

Rather than telling Tom he'd misheard or it was just an urban myth, Thameslink replied: "Hi, the rear 1st class (in the direction of travel) is permanently declassified on all our services."

While rail operators will sometimes allow people into first-class if the service is particularly busy, it's unusual for a first-class section to be permanently available to everyone.

Commuters took to Twitter to complain about Thameslink keeping it a secret, but the company said the declassification has been in places since 2016.

So it's good for passengers, to a certain extent. Like other trains, the first-class section on Thameslink can hardly be described as plush or luxurious. But at least you might get a seat.

Why not try it this evening and see if it makes a difference to your commute - although not too many of you. If everybody does it, the first-class carriage will be just as overcrowded as the rest and then nobody wins.