A student said she was made to feel like a “criminal” after she was kicked off a city bus and fined - despite claiming to have evidence of her ticket purchase.

UEA nursing student, Lily Theobald, said she was left feeling "humiliated" after two ticket inspectors told her to get off a number 25 First Bus due to not having a ticket.

The 20-year-old claimed that despite being able to prove her ticket purchase using her phone she was given a £50 fine as she watched the bus pull away from the top of Unthank Road.

Lily Theobald is a 20-year-old UEA nursing studentLily Theobald is a 20-year-old UEA nursing student (Image: Lily Theobald)

She said: "I had thrown my ticket into the bin after purchasing it, as I had seen those in front of me do.

"The inspectors got on and asked me for my ticket, which I couldn't provide - but I did have the recent purchase on my phone, and could show that to them.

"He just told me to pick up my stuff and get off the bus.

"I felt like I was being publicly shamed."

Lily was on a number 25 bus when it happenedLily was on a number 25 bus when it happened (Image: Newsquest)

Lily claimed she watched other passengers fish their discarded tickets out of the bin and show them to the inspector, who allowed them to stay on the bus.

She added: "I asked if I could do the same - my ticket was in there too. 

"They refused.

"It wasn't fair - there seems to be one rule for one person and another for everyone else.

"I felt so intimidated and humiliated - and unfairly targeted."

The inspectors fined Lily £50The inspectors fined Lily £50 (Image: Newsquest)

Stephanie Theobald, Lily's mum, added: "I don't know why they wouldn't just let her show them her ticket purchase and stay on."

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A spokeswoman for First Bus said: "Our policy is very clear, when a passenger is unable to show a revenue protection officer a valid ticket for their journey, they will be charged a penalty fare.

"If purchasing via Google or Apple Pay, customers must retain the paper ticket issued by the driver as proof, as this is the accepted evidence of purchase.

"To avoid any issues, we ask all our customers to ensure that they are travelling with a valid, correctly issued ticket, and that it is retained for the entire duration of their journey."