After battling delays, a busy luggage rack and keeping hold of your ticket amid the rush-hour chaos, a clean spot to sit on the train is all many travellers desire for their journey. 

But 'dumpers' often strike on trains - pesky passengers who leave behind their rubbish, hopping off at their stop without taking empty bottles, wrappers or their crumpled newspaper with them. 

Shockingly, 10 per cent of UK train passengers surveyed by Japanese rail pass company JRPass admitted to often leaving litter or food packaging behind on trains.

It isn't welcome behaviour, however – and 74 per cent said it is 'never acceptable'. A whopping 75 per cent want the bad habit to be punishable by a fine of between £11 and £20. 

Lee Thompson, co-founder of solo travel company Flash Pack, reveals he witnesses littering 'every weekend on British trains'.

'People get up, walk off, and leave behind beer cans, sandwich wrappers, chewing gum stuck to seats – all sorts,' he says. 'It's grim. And honestly, it's lazy.' 

Meanwhile, Daniel James, editor at JRPass, puts the bad habit down to being a 'combination of convenience, frustration and social behaviour'. 

'When passengers board a carriage that already has litter on the seats or floor, it can subconsciously signal that leaving rubbish behind is acceptable, and therefore people are far more likely to follow the behaviour they see around them,' he adds. 

Daniel argues 'an element of detachment' from the service can also contribute, because of passengers 'dealing with high fares, delays, overcrowding or cancellations, and some stop feeling a sense of responsibility towards the environment they're travelling in'. 

Plenty of frustrated passengers have taken to social media to share their thoughts about 'dumpers', as dubbed by Metro. 

One person, who moved to the UK from overseas and was particularly baffled by the occurrence, posted on Reddit: 'I find it weird that people leave all their food packaging on the tables e.g. on LNER. 

'This seems like an acceptable behaviour in the UK as a lot of people are doing it?'

They observed how some trains have staff who collect rubbish with a bin bag, but despite this passengers still left litter behind on their table. The poster shared they always take their rubbish with them, refusing to join the 'dumpers'. 

Others agreed with the passenger and one commented: 'I always do, but consistently get on to find a table full of rubbish! So yeah agreed it’s common but it’s nuts.'

'Chap opposite me left his cereal bar wrapper on the table when he got up to leave,' another added. 'I managed to put it back in his pocket as he was waiting for the doors to open.'

In another post, someone else witnessed a father and son leave rubbish on the Tube in London and recalled: 'I was on the Elizabeth Line earlier today and noticed a young man travelling with his dad. As they were getting off, he left his rubbish behind, and his dad didn't even tell him to pick it up.'

In this situation, a passenger stepped in and called the pair out, causing the son to 'begrudgingly' grab his litter. But the observer noted: '​The dad didn't scold his son once, which makes me think the son learned this behaviour from him.'

They added, 'We definitely need more people like that passenger, those who are willing to speak up and remind others to just be decent.'

A video posted on TikTok by @itsevalina showed a pile of pistachio shells left behind on a train seat in London. The caption read: 'Like... Why would you just leave them there like that?'

Another clip, posted by @vasiliy_yyy, shows an image of rubbish left under a seat and says, 'In the UK they just litter on the train.' 

Lee highlights that it's often difficult to find a bin on a train and says, 'They're tucked away, they're full, and they're rarely signposted properly. 

'So I'm not going to pretend the rail operators are completely blameless. But that's not really the excuse people think it is. You managed to carry that food and drink onto the train. You can carry the rubbish off it.'

As for the trains that do have bins readily available, Daniel argues they are usually 'relatively small and can fill up quickly during busy periods, leaving passengers with limited options once they're full.' 

The train expert adds, 'A bigger factor is often the overall condition of the carriage, as clean, well-maintained environments tend to encourage respectful behaviour, whereas carriages that already appear untidy can unintentionally normalise littering.

'Regular cleaning and visible efforts to maintain standards can help set expectations for passengers.'

Another issue that may contribute to the problem of 'dumpers' is the rapid turnover of passengers.   

'The other thing nobody really talks about is how many people start queuing to board before the train's even ready,' Lee explains. 'They rush on, sit down in a carriage that hasn't been cleaned yet, and then complain it's a mess.'

He argues that if people waited 'they'd probably end up with a cleaner seat'.

Lee admits he does 'say something' when he witnesses a 'dumper' in action. 

'Every time. People don't like being called out, but they almost always pick it up,' he says. 'Which tells you everything you need to know – they knew exactly what they were doing.'