A man has sparked debate after kicking a pregnant woman out of his pre-booked train seat after a long day of travelling. He explained how he was travelling five hours across the country and made sure to pre-book a seat on the train for every leg of his journey, wanting to make the trip as comfortable as possible.

However when he arrived at his seats on one of his trains, he came to realise a pregnant woman was already sitting in it. He politely told her she was sitting in his pre-booked seat – but she simply acknowledged she ‘must be in the wrong seat’ and went right back to what she was doing.

He said on Reddit: “I say that it’s my seat and could I please sit in it. At this point her partner sitting opposite her starts speaking at me in what I perceive to be an aggressive tone. He suggests I find another seat (which there are none because it’s busy) and I say but I booked that seat and there are no other available seats in the carriage.

“He then raises his voice and says well someone else is in our seats and that his missus is pregnant.” The man, who suffers with a heart defect, reminded him that everyone has their own medical issues and reasons as to why they can’t stand for long periods of time.

“I ask him to not speak to me in an aggressive tone, and that I will make a complaint. He then starts swearing at me and I ask him to stop. Eventually the woman gets up and allows me to sit there and he continues to berate me saying he hopes I feel good for myself and that I’m quiet now I have my seat, when really I just stopped engaging as I felt there was no point.”

After overhearing the commotion, another passenger offered the pregnant woman and her partner his seats, meaning the three would be facing each other around a table seat. He added: “He sits his partner down and then laughs at me and points in my face. Eventually when the ticket inspector comes around they are asked to move to their assigned seats and she asks if I’m ok as another passenger had made a complaint on my behalf.”

Wanting to know whether he overreacted in this situation, he has taken to social media to ask users for their thoughts. In response, one user said: “There’s no reason why the husband, as the healthy one, should have stayed in his seat. It’s ridiculous that after hearing that you have a heart defect he didn’t get out of his seat and give it to his wife, allowing you to take yours.

“Even if they couldn’t sit in their seats there was no reason for her to have yours. The husband was being a selfish a**.” Another user added: “You mean kicking a pregnant woman out of your seat. Obviously not in the wrong, don’t let some obnoxious bullies get to you. A third user said: “Why didn’t the man get up to give “his” seat to his pregnant partner. It’s his responsibility to ensure her comfort, not yours.”

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