TWO women who launched an alcohol-fuelled attack on a man and his father on board a Cardiff to Ebbw Vale train have been sentenced, following a British Transport Police (BTP) investigation.

Natalie Elizabeth Bowd, aged 25, of Derby Crescent, Hilltop, Ebbw Vale, and Demi Louise Cook, also 25, of Commercial Street, Llanhilleth, were both sentenced following a trial at Caerphilly Magistrates Court.

Both were found guilty of assault and a public order offence of disorderly conduct and were each fined £330 and ordered to pay £100 compensation and £310 court costs.

The court was told that on Saturday, February 28 this year, Bowd and Cook were among a group of women who boarded the Ebbw Vale train at Cardiff Central railway station. They were drinking and using foul and abusive language.

The victim's father asked the group to refrain from using such language as there were children on board. There was a verbal altercation between Bowd and the victim and, as Bowd became increasingly aggressive, she hit both men, with the 20-year-old victim pinned against the window.

He then tried pushing her away but Bowd was frenziedly swinging her arms and he was struck a second time.

At this stage, Cook joined in and began throwing punches, striking the victim in the head and body, before other passengers intervened and pulled both women away.

British Transport Police was alerted and officers met the train at Risca station, where Bowd and Cook were both arrested.

In interview, both women described themselves as drunk on the night of the assault. Cook claimed a scuffle broke out after she was subjected to verbal abuse by the victim, and that she had hit him in self defence.

Bowd denied assaulting anyone on board the train and stated she tried to stop a fight between Cook and the victim.

Speaking after the sentencing, PC Craig Farrell, of British Transport Police, said: "This was a particularly busy train, with around 200 passengers on board, many of which were visibly upset by what they had witnessed; one young boy, in particular, was left in some distress.

"As well as the obvious upset caused, the incident also resulted in the train being delayed, which further inconvenienced those innocent passengers on board.

"Bowd and Cook's violent behaviour, which was clearly influenced by alcohol, was completely unacceptable and I hope the sentence sends a clear message that violence will not be tolerated. They are both young women and I sincerely hope they have learned a valuable lesson.

"Fortunately, incidents such as this are rare, but when they do happen, we take them extremely seriously and will do everything in our power to bring those responsible to justice."

Lynne Milligan, customer services director at Arriva Trains Wales, said: "When passengers behave badly on train journeys it creates an unpleasant atmosphere for all other customers and our staff.

"We work hard at minimising anti-social behaviour on our network, but when such behaviour spills over into unlawful action, we will work with BTP in seeking appropriate redress from the court system in order that customers can have confidence to travel in safety."