Single mum who stepped in to stop Devon train fight wins award (From Mid Devon Star)

Single mum who stepped in to stop Devon train fight wins award

3:30pm Friday 15th March 2013 in Mid Devon News By Mid Devon Star Reporter

A BRAVE single mum who stepped in to stop a fight bet-ween two gangs on a train in Devon has received an award for her bravery.

Hairdresser Naomi Spencer, 54, was aboard an early evening train from Exeter to Barnstaple when she heard words exchanged bet-ween the men.

The gang members had already clashed in an Exeter pub over a historic murder and police had been called to break up the violence.

Naomi, who was going home to Crediton, said she stepped in after one man entered the carriage she was in and began to provoke six other men.

She said: “The six lads started having a go back at this other one lad who was already covered in blood from the earlier fight.

“I didn’t really care about what had gone on beforehand. I just thought six against one? That’s not on.

“There was a lot of swearing and bad language. I’m a single mum and I thought I can’t let this happen on a busy train.

“A lot of the passengers seemed worried about what might happen.

“It was out of order, so I told them to pack it in and I gave them clear instructions that I wanted them to stay apart.

“I just wanted everyone on the train to be safe. I think if I’d ignored things the situation would have got far worse.

“I’m a short, dumpy woman, but I just gave them a ‘mum’ look and told them to stop messing around.

“I just wanted to get home. It was a Friday evening, I was tired and I just wanted it to stop.”

The train driver eventually had to reverse the train back to Exeter so police could speak to the men on the platform.

Naomi was due to travel to Lon-don this week to receive her commendation from British Transport Police Chief Constable Andrew Trotter, who said: “Naomi’s inc-redibly brave actions were outstanding and undoubtedly prevented the situation from becoming far worse.”