New ticket stampers have been introduced by a train company in a bid to crack down on ticket fraudsters.

The measures are part of First North Western's continued campaign to cut back on fare fraud.

The operator says stamping the tickets with a date will reduce the level of opportunity for fraudulent use considerably.

First North Western, which operates Sankey and Glazebrook stations, has recently appointed Steve Warner as revenue protection manager.

He said: "The new stamper for conductors is the latest stage of our crackdown, and will benefit staff and passengers alike. Fare paying passengers can rest assured that we will continue to look at all methods of stopping other passengers travelling for free."

He added: "We take revenue protection very seriously. We have successfully prosecuted more than 500 people for fare evasion so far and our latest hard-hitting promotion has been further raising awareness that we will not tolerate it any longer."

The new lightweight ticket stampers are widely used in the industry and will make the role of the conductor much easier.