A woman from Greenhithe is one of six South West Trains workers found guilty of conspiracy to commit fraud.

An investigation by British Transport Police (BTP) and South West Trains uncovered a ticket fraud that led to jail sentences for six rail staff.

Kingston crown Court heard on September 4 how the three men and three women embarked on a massive ticketing fraud thought to be worth in excess of £100,000 over nearly two years.

The staff, who worked as ticket-office clerks at Richmond station in south-west London, committed the fraud between October 2011 and January 2013.

Grace Oyegoke, aged 33, of Ingress Gardens was sentenced to nine months, suspended for two years, 150 hours of unpaid work to be completed within 12 months, and wear an electronic tag for three months.

The court heard the gang’s activities came to light in October 2012 after South West Trains asked BTP to investigate an anomaly in their accounting system.

BTP discovered the problem centred around Richmond station. Further investigation revealed several members of staff had been de-frauding the ticketing and Oyster card system.

Fraudulent cards were being sold illicitly to unsuspecting customers, while the six staff pocketed the cash, in what the prosecution described as a ‘sell one get one free’ scam.

They were arrested in January 2013.

Officers estimate the value of the Oyster fraud at around £68,000 and, while an exact figure cannot be placed on the travel card fraud, the court was told that it is also believed to run into tens of thousands of pounds.

Speaking after the gang were sentenced, Detective Constable Becci Crampton said: “Between them, these people had more than 50 years service with South West Trains, yet they chose to throw that away for the sake of greed.

“Throughout their trial, they denied any responsibility for the fraud, claiming the irregularities had been caused by technical faults with ticket machines.

"Thanks to the hard work of BTP officers, South West Trains and TfL, we were able to prove this was a lie.

“I am satisfied with the sentences handed down, and hope those involved will use their sentences to reflect on what they have done.”

Tim Shoveller, Chief Executive of the South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance, said: "I am very pleased that the work of the BTP and our own teams has led to such a successful result.

“This sends a clear sign that there is a severe price to pay for people who behave dishonestly and fraudulently.

"We would like to thank BTP and our own employees who have worked very hard in bringing this complex and detailed case to justice."