They were lying in wait for supporters as they travelled to the club's St James' Park ground.

Inspectors issued 28 penalty notices as part of a campaign targeting fare dodgers at major public events.

All those caught in Friday's swoop will have to pay a �20 penalty fare within 21 days or face court action.

Tough action

Inspectors have already carried out operations at other big events, including the Hoppings fair in Newcastle and the city's Orange Evolution music festival.

Ken Mackay, director of Metro, said: "The vast majority of law-abiding, fare-paying customers appreciate our tough action against fare cheats.

"It's not bad luck to get caught without a ticket, it's just stupid.

"Over the past year we have reduced the number of journeys by fare cheats by one million.

"We issued 36,908 penalty fare notices and recovered �394,822 in fines and costs, all of which was re-invested in the operation of Metro."