A train worker was fired after first-class passengers handed him sausage rolls taken from a bin

A train worker has been fired after serving sausage rolls taken from a bin to first-class passengers.

Peter Duffy, who was an employee of the London North Eastern Railway (LNER), was accused of preparing sausage rolls “recovered from the bin” for first class passengers, which were served by a colleague.

The incident was reported by another train crew member, who heard laughter from the kitchen before service and later noted that the bin was empty, despite being told earlier that no sausage rolls were available because they had been thrown away.

Mr Duffy claimed he “went too far for the client”.

On May 7, 2023, Mr Duffy and a fellow train crew member were working aboard an LNER service departing York, when two passengers in first class requested sausage rolls.

The colleague who reported the concern said: “Me and a standard class host were in the kitchen getting ourselves some food when the cooking host told us the sausage rolls had just gone into the bin.”

Later, the staff member reported hearing “a lot of laughter” from inside the kitchen where Mr Duffy and his colleague were sitting, before reminding them that a passenger was sitting nearby.

They added: “A few minutes later one of the first class hosts took Coach K’s sausage rolls.

“After I finished eating I took my rubbish to the kitchen bin and saw that the bin was empty and there were no sausage rolls in the bin.”

The staff member claimed that Mr Duffy had withdrawn the food from the bin before plating and reheating it.

Then his colleague in the kitchen is said to have served the food to the customers sitting in the first class.

Mr Duffy was told that CCTV footage had been recovered and showed items of food thrown into the bin being retrieved by him in the presence of his colleague.

The footage suggests the food was plated and reheated by Mr Duffy and then served to customers by his colleague.

Both were suspended by the railway company pending an investigation into the alleged violation of food hygiene standards.

At a research meeting on 17 May 2023, Mr Duffy said he was “the go-to person for the client”.

“For the first-class people there was none left but they were wrapped in foil so I clearly took them out,” he said.

“We were completely on the run, I’ve gone too far for the client in my mind.”

He said he suffered from anxiety and depression, was on medication and stressed with work but added: “It was me trying to do the best for the client I’m known for.”

A union representative who attended the inquest said Mr Duffy was “suffering from a recognized condition that day, known as transient global amnesia”.

Transient global amnesia is a sudden, temporary disruption of short-term memory.

Mr Duffy’s colleagues denied seeing him take the sausage rolls out of the bin and said they were laughing because he had passed out but the tribunal found his evidence was likely to be self-serving.

Mr Duffy was found to have committed gross misconduct and was sacked in July 2023.

He claimed unfair dismissal and discrimination at a tribunal in Newcastle in August 2025, but both complaints were dismissed.

In reasons published on Wednesday in support of the judgment, the tribunal judge said that LNER had acted reasonably in deciding to sack Mr Duffy and that the actions which led to his dismissal were not a result of his incapacity.