Thug who knocked out conductor's tooth on Leeds train is given chance
Warning for offender who attacked worker without provocation
A young thug has been warned he will be jailed if he steps out of line again, having attacked a train conductor who asked to see his ticket.
Finley Seggie smiled at the Northern worker before lashing out and punching him to the mouth.
The 21-year-old was given a suspended sentence at Leeds Crown Court this week.
During a previous hearing, Judge Ray Singh promised he would not lock Seggie up if he completed an unpaid work order from a previous violent altercation.
The court heard this week that he had completed most of the order and had saved £1,500 for compensation for the rail worker.
Judge Singh gave him a 16-month sentence, suspended for two years, gave him another 120 hours of unpaid work and told to pay the £1,500 as recompense.
He told Seggie: “Hopefully you are getting to an age where maturity is setting in.
“You know you can’t go on like this. You reacted in a violent way, you need to stop, otherwise it will be immediate prison.
“It was somebody just doing their job and entitled to ask about tickets.”
The court previously heard that on the afternoon of December 14, 2024, the rail worker was making his way through the carriage of the York-bound train and approached Seggie and his friend to check tickets.
The friend told the conductor: “We haven’t gone none (sic), so don’t ask.”
Seggie then verbally abused the worker. One elderly woman was too afraid to get off the train at her stop.
Seggie then boasted to his pal that he had “sparked one” before, suggesting he had punched a rail worker previously.
The pair were asked to get off the train when it stopped at East Garforth. Seggie, who was seen smiling, approached the conductor before punching him to the mouth.
The worker’s glasses were knocked off and he lost his tooth. Passengers came to the aid of the shaken worker as Seggie and his friend got off the train.
The worker needed treatment at A&E and required a dental bridge.
Seggie was arrested on February 18 last year after being identified from the train’s CCTV.
During his interview he accepted punching the man but claimed it was in self defence.
Seggie, of Hansby Grange, Seacroft, later admitted a charge of ABH, but only on the day he was due to stand trial at Leeds Magistrates’ Court.
He also admitted breach of a community order by failing to attend an unpaid work appointment.
He has 11 previous convictions for 16 offences, including an attack on a customer in a supermarket in Garforth.
Seggie was only 16 at the time and was given the community order with unpaid work to complete.
Mitigating for his latest offence, Giles Grant said there had been a four-year gap in his offending.
The court heard that his mother had been an alcoholic and Seggie was forced to look after his sister.
However, he said his mother is now sober after rehabilitation, and that Seggie was working as a heating engineer.