I WENT to London the other day. When in town I prefer to take the train because it is easier than driving and it means I can dip into a good book - usually a Jack Higgins or a Jeffrey Archer.

However, the last few occasions when daring to use public transport I have had some pretty shameful experiences. And they seem to be getting worse.

When my girlfriend and I returned from London towards the end of last year we were sitting quietly minding our own business when a group of four rowdy, drunkards boarded.

Now, working at a newspaper I am as used to hot air as the next man but the type of pungent hot air we're talking about here was simply vulgar.

Added to which the insulting loud language left little to the imagination. We moved to another carriage.

Then more recently on boarding a train near Southampton - I was followed on by a scruffy student. That in itself I will forgive - although it doesn't do much for the street cred.

It wasn't long however before he turned his iPod up so loud that I too could hear Nickelback. In his sheer excitement he seemed to have forgotten his handkerchief and started sniffing in time - what amounted to at least 50 sniffs.

The poor soul must have been hallucinating by the time we reached Southampton Central.

As we alighted, the scruffy yoof' fortunately didn't follow me on to the London-bound train. All went well thereafter until my return journey home...

Once again changing at Southampton Central to board my train home I sat at a table with three other exhausted commuters.

It wasn't long before a troop of delinquents boarded the train.

Admittedly they stayed standing in the corridor and didn't grab anyone by the lapels.

But what got up my nose was their continual beer swilling and torrents of loud foul language dedicated to some poor girl one of them knew.

What made it worse was that we discovered they were in the Army and had clearly just been let out for the weekend with only one thing in mind.

It saddens me that some of those who fight for Queen and country cannot conduct themselves correctly in public.