Mayor considers plastic Tube seats

Tube trains could be stripped of cushioned seating under plans revealed today. Mayor Ken Livingstone said he is considering introducing plastic seats on some trains, following complaints about dirt.

Mr Livingstone spoke about the problem in a radio phone-in on London's LBC station. One caller told how

the seat she sat on during her journey to work today had been "covered in urine".

The Mayor said it was impossible to prevent such problems, but suggested that plastic seating might be more hygienic.

He said there is "no way" to stop a person with problems fouling themselves.

"But we could take away the cushions and have plastic seating and we might do a study on that. I can only really recall one time in my life when I sat down in anything, which was a soft drink."

He claimed hard plastic seats could be cheaper than soft material, but "certainly wouldn't be as comfortable".