Iraq war veteran thrown off train after ticket row as conductor tells him: 'It's not as if you've taken a bullet'

A soldier returning from Iraq in full combat uniform was thrown off a train after a ticket inspector demanded proof he was eligible for an Armed Forces discount.

Rifleman Zachary Hoyland, 19, had been unable to pick up his Services railcard from barracks and was told the cheaper ticket he had been bought was not valid without it.

But the official refused to show any leniency, instead telling him: 'I don't know what you are complaining about.

'It's not as if you've taken a bullet or anything.'

With the help of a friendly passenger, Rifleman Hoyland had already managed to find the extra £50.50 he needed to pay the full fare.

But he was understandably outraged by the 'bullet' remark and swore at the ticket inspector  -  who, to the disbelief of other passengers, ordered him off the train at the next station.

After a gruelling three-day journey from the Iraqi front line, Rifleman Hoyland was forced to disembark at Chesterfield and had to wait for another train to take him the final ten miles to his home in Sheffield.