Cyclist lying across four train seats refuses to move for mum and baby

A foul-mouthed cyclist on a New Zealand train caused outrage by lying across multiple priority seats and stopping a mum and baby from sitting down.

When challenged by the train manager, the man reportedly said ‘get f**ked’, as the pram-wheeling mother watched on.

Passenger Stuart Dawson boarded the packed train near Auckland at 7.18am last Wednesday and came across the lycra-clad cyclist sleeping across four seats.

At the next station, the mum and child boarded the train but had nowhere to sit, according to the New Zealand Herald.

Mr Dawson said he managed to discreetly get the train manager’s attention and alert him to the situation.

But when the manager approached the cyclist, he became aggressive, refused to move and hurled abuse.

Mr Dawson explained: ‘He went up and asked the cyclist to move and the guy just said “get f****d”. He said that a couple of times. The manager then said, “if you continue doing that I’ll let you off at the next stop”.

‘The cyclist repeated what he said, saying “f**k off” and went back to sleep. The manager then walked off and did absolutely nothing.’

According to Mr Dawson, the carriage only had a couple of seats spare and the mum and her baby could not park their pram nearby without getting in the way of other passengers.

He added that he has not seen the mother, who had regularly boarded the train at the same time as him, since the incident, suggesting she looked ‘put out’, ‘unhappy’ and ‘uncomfortable’.

Transdev, who manage the Onehunga line, told the Herald it believed staff had handled the incident in a professional manner.

A spokesperson said: ‘We take every precaution to ensure the safety of our customers.

‘Onboard staff will call police when an incident justifies this.

‘We are pleased the Train manager followed her training by checking on the needs of the affected customer, and that the situation did not escalate.’

But Mr Dawson said the manager did not do enough.

He added: ‘I just don’t know why the train manager would threaten to kick him off but then do nothing about it.’

Last month an elderly couple caused uproar in the UK by refusing to move out of train seats reserved for a young family.