A rail passenger threw a cup of beer over a female station worker after being challenged over his lack of a ticket.

British Transport Police are appealing for information after a member of staff at Thornton Heath station was drenched by a man trying to travel without a ticket.

A CCTV image has been issued of a man they want to speak to in connection with the incident, which took place around 11pm on Thursday, October 13.

A man approached the gate line and attempted to get through the barrier but was challenged by a member of staff because he hadn’t purchased a ticket to travel.

He then turned around to leave the station, but not before throwing a full cup of beer over her.

Detective Sergeant Bob Stokoe, said: “The man’s behaviour towards this member of staff, who had quite rightly informed him that he needed to buy a ticket to travel, was completely unacceptable.

“This was a degrading assault on a woman who was simply trying to do her job and we’ll do everything we can to track down the person responsible.

“We’ve followed a number of avenues of enquiry, including submitting the cup for forensic analysis, but to no avail so far.

“If you know the man, or have any information that could help our investigation, we want to hear from you.”

A spokesman for Southern said: “Some people feel they have the right to abuse staff who are in a public-facing role, which is disgraceful.

“We would urge anyone who recognises this man from the CCTV images to come forward and identify him to BTP.”

Anyone with information about the incident or who recognises the man should contact British Transport Police on Freefone 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference B12/LSA of 1/12/11.