First Great Western says rising fuel prices left them with no choice.

The latest price rises have been brought in by First Great Western.

All rail companies introduced rises of 4% at the start of the year in line with recommendations from the Strategic Rail Authority.

However First Great Western has just introduced another rise of an average of 2.2% - but the amount varies with some passengers facing a 6% hike.

It has angered customers such as Chris Watson, from Okehampton, who uses the train for work. He believes the prices are already too high.

It's not a step we take lightly Tim Bowcock, First Great Western

"I think it's ridiculous," he said.

"It puts me off using Great Western as a service when there's a very good service - although not quite so frequent - which runs from Exeter to Waterloo with South West Trains at almost half the price."

Other companies operating in the region say they are not putting up prices.

But Tim Bowcock, from First Great Western, said: "We run high-speed long-distance trains which tend to use more fuel than slower, more local services so perhaps we are more greatly affected than other operators by increases in fuel prices, which have gone up by up to 50%.

"It's not a step we take lightly."

Insufficient publicity

First Great Western has also been criticised for not publicising the increases more widely, although it is under no obligation to do so.

The Rail Passengers Committee believes it should have made people more aware as a matter of courtesy.

Mr Bowcock said: "It is in the fares leaflets we produce and it's been in the local media so it's absolutely no secret we are changing the fares at this time."

Train tickets into Paddington are among the most expensive in the country.

It means a first class ticket from Penzance to London will be �15 more, and a standard ticket goes up by �11.