VIRGIN Trains are to roll out more body-worn cameras for station staff and on-board teams after a successful trial.

After becoming the first UK train operator to provide the cameras to cover all its frontline teams, the train operator - which operates services from London to Glasgow - is equipping a further 250 of its people with cameras, bringing the total to more than 500.

These will primarily be used by staff working across the network - including station staff and on-board teams.

As part of the pilot scheme, 275 cameras were initially introduced in September last year, and saw a reduction in assaults on Virgin Trains staff.

Further analysis revealed physical assaults on Virgin's employees dropped by 30 per cent between April and September this year compared to the same period in 2018.

Dave Whitehouse, safety director at Virgin Trains, said: “The safety of our staff and customers is paramount, and body worn cameras play an important role in helping us to keep our network safe.

“The feedback is that our staff feel more confident and reassured wearing the equipment while working on the network.

"It’s only natural that more of our people should have access to using it.

“Body Worn Cameras act as a deterrent, but if one of our people is subjected to an assault or there is another incident involving our customers, the technology is also there to quickly provide evidence to the British Transport Police.”