A university student has been forced to give his DNA to police because he failed to buy a £2.40 rail fare.

Jared Ahmad, 27, was arrested after completing a 20-minute journey to Salford Crescent, Greater Manchester. He claims he was unable to buy a ticket because there was no conductor on board his train.

British Transport Police arrested him, put him in a cell and took both his fingerprints and a sample of DNA. Both will now be stored on a police national computer.

"The police have gone totally over the top about this," Mr Ahmad, who is studying English and Culture at Salford University.

"At the end of the day I was caught without a rail ticket, yet I have been treated like a premier league villain.

"I'm just not sure we should have to give our DNA when it comes down to failing to buy £2 rail tickets. The next thing we know they'll be asking for our DNA if we don't have enough money for a bus fare".

Mr Ahmad said that while Mills Hill, the station at which he boarded the train has no ticket machine, there is usually a conductor on board.

"On that particular day there was no conductor so the plan was we would buy tickets when we got there. I was stopped by police at Salford Crescent as I was about to buy a ticket. They wanted to know my name and address, but I didn't see why I had to give them those details.

Full article here.