Allegations that a 15-year-old girl was thrown off a train 90 miles from home are to be investigated by the First Great Western rail company.

Lottie Fisher had been visiting her father in Bracknell, Berkshire, and was travelling home to Looe.

Aware of the problems with the railway mainline at Dawlish, Lottie's father booked her a ticket to Tiverton Parkway in Devon and reserved her a seat. It was arranged that her stepfather would drive to the station and meet her there.

But during the journey, the family say, a ticket inspector came round and Lottie could not find her ticket, although she was able to produce a payment receipt and the seat reservation showing the number of the seat she was occupying.

The teenager said that when the train reached Taunton she was ejected and left on the platform, which she could not exit because she needed a ticket to do so.

Meanwhile, Lottie's stepfather had arrived at Tiverton Parkway and was alarmed to find she was not on the train. Fortunately, a woman at Taunton saw her distressed state and contacted her stepfather, enabling them to be reunited.

Lottie's grandfather, Arthur Fisher, from Looe, said that the family had contacted First Great Western complaining about Lottie's treatment but they had not so far heard back. He said: 'I think it's sad that they can treat a 15-year-old girl in this way. Why couldn't he just have taken her name and address and it could have been sorted out later? I could understand it, if she had been lippy to the inspector, but she is the sort of person who would be too embarrassed to cause a fuss.'

A spokesman for the company said: 'We have a strict care policy regarding minors travelling alone, who should only be removed from a train as a last resort and, even then, into the care of a parent, guardian or member of the British Transport Police. We would urge the customers to contact us directly so we can investigate the incident more fully.'