Man kicked off quiet train after demanding 7-year-old child moves from his ‘reserved’ seat

6 January 2022, 10:22 | Updated: 6 January 2022, 10:35

By Heart

@thisisheart

A man has sparked a debate after he tried to force a young child to get out of his train seat.

A mum-of-two was left fuming when her children were shouted at by a stranger on the train.

Taking to Reddit, the anonymous woman explained that she was travelling to visit her Uncle over the New Year with her two children aged four and seven.

She said her kids were exhausted and there weren’t many people on the carriage so she thought it would be okay for them to sit in a reserved seat.

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"The journey was quiet,” she said, continuing: “We got to have a bit of rest and have a few drinks and some food which the kids appreciated since it was such a long day for them.

“When people came on looking for their seats I stayed quiet and hoped their seats weren't ours.”

But things took a turn when one man got on and started looking for his seat.

The passenger was seen walking up and down the train, asking people to move so he could get a better look at the numbers on the headrests.

The woman continued: “I thought it was pretty rude when he could easily have just sat in another seat for now (the train wasn't that full).”

It turned out the woman’s daughter was sitting in the seat this man had reserved, and he was determined to get it back.

“He aggressively said to her that she was in his seat and she kind of looked a bit startled and looked to me.

“I had been watching this guy be rude to other passengers and I was pretty angry that he'd speak to my daughter the same way, rather than look to me and ask politely.

"She's seven and is obviously with me."

The mum told the man that there were no other seats where the three of them could sit together, but there were plenty of empty seats for him to sit on his own.

After the man went off ‘muttering’, he came back minutes later with a member of staff by his side.

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"He was shouting at this point how we had stolen his seats that he'd paid money for and we weren't even supposed to be on the train,” she said.

"The woman checked our tickets and I explained to her that we were just tired and didn't think it would have been a problem to sit in the seats whilst the train wasn't full.”

To the man’s fury, the woman and her children were told not to worry and he was told to sit elsewhere.

"He started shouting about how we had stolen his seat and children weren't above the law,” the Reddit post continues.

“Long story short he was told that he needed to get off the train at the next stop as he wasn't welcome on the service.

“At this point, both of my kids were pretty shaken and I regretted the whole journey but wasn't sure what I could even do at this point.”

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Unsurprisingly, the story attracted a huge debate online, with many people divided over who was in the wrong.

While there was some support for the woman, many disagreed with her children sitting in the reserved seat.

One person commented: “He paid for that seat, and your level of entitlement is staggering. I'm honestly shocked that the staff member sided so blatantly with you. If the train 'Wasn't that full' why would you sit in the reserved spots?"

Someone else said: "I honestly think the staff sided with her because this man had gotten loud. If he hadn't, I think OP would have been made to move."

A third wrote: “He could’ve handled the situation more calmly but he was definitely in the right.”

While a fourth added: “As soon as the guy came near and was obviously trying to find the right seat number, OP could have said "is this your seat? we'd be happy to move", and then there would have been no problem.”