Twitter hunt for Bournemouth-Manchester train 'love rat Ben'

  • Published
Emily ShepherdImage source, Emily Shepherd
Image caption,

Emily Shepherd overheard the conversation on board a train between Bournemouth and Manchester

A student has caused a nationwide hunt for a "love rat" after overhearing a conversation on a train.

Bournemouth University student Emily Shepherd tweeted: "If anyone has a boyfriend called Ben .... he's just told his friends he's cheating on you."

The post has been retweeted more than 26,000 times after she sent it from the Bournemouth to Manchester train on Friday.

Ms Shepherd said the response had been "crazy".

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post by Emily

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post by Emily

The 23-year-old, who was on board the train which left Bournemouth at about 17:00 GMT on Friday, said "It was a fairly empty carriage and there was a group of boys talking and drinking and swearing as lads do, and they were going through girls' Facebook profiles."

She said she had publicly outed the individual after he apparently admitted to cheating on his girlfriend.

"It's been crazy - I've received so many comments from people supporting me and you get the usual trolls trying to bring you down," she added.

"I've had a few people sending me pictures saying 'does he look like this?', 'what does he look like?' but there's no sign yet."

Among those retweeting the original post was Deborah Meaden from BBC Two show Dragons' Den.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 2 by Deborah Meaden

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 2 by Deborah Meaden

However, some people criticised Ms Shepherd's decision to post the tweet.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 3 by G M McLean

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 3 by G M McLean

But other people rallied to support Ms Shepherd and congratulated her for the post.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 4 by Wasim Akhtar

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 4 by Wasim Akhtar
This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 5 by Lisa Bower

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 5 by Lisa Bower