Brit award-winning pop star, 30, hit with £546 penalty after failing to pay £38.90 train fare

SINGER Celeste has been hit with a £546 penalty after failing to pay a £38.90 train fare.

The Brit Award winner, whose 2020 hit Stop This Flame is used as the Sky Sports Premier League theme, did not buy a ticket before getting on.

It is believed she had tried but found the phone app was not working.

She then tried to pay on board the Chiltern Railways train from London Marylebone to Bicester Village, Oxon, but was told she would be prosecuted for fare evasion.

The case against Celeste Waite, 30, of Hackney, North London, was proven in her absence at Westminster magistrates’ court as she was out of the country recording.

She was told to pay a £220 fine, £288 costs and surcharges and the price of the original ticket.

Her representative said: “Celeste tried to buy a ticket before boarding but the train app wasn’t working due to a tech glitch.

“She was running late and mistakenly thought she could pay on board.

“She was then out of the country so missed all the correspondence.

“But she accepted her mistake and paid the fine in full.”

A Chiltern Railways spokesman said: “We have a responsibility to make sure that everyone pays for the service they use.