Virgin apologises after Olympian Louis Smith says staff only checked first class tickets of black passengers

'Well this train journey certainly got a lot more interesting and political!'

Louis Smith, the Olympic bronze medalist gymnast, will join the judging panel (Getty Images)

Virgin Trains has apologised to Olympic gymnast Louis Smith after he complained that staff only checked the tickets of black people in his train carriage.

Mr Smith, who won the 2012 edition of Strictly Come Dancing, began live tweeting his train journey when a waiter asked him and the only other black person in the first class carriage to show their tickets.

The company has since apologised and announced it will investigate the incident. It is understood Mr Smith was travelling between Peterborough, where he grew up, and London King’s Cross on the East Coast line, when the “interesting and political” journey ensued on Thursday night.

Mr Smith said a black passenger was asked to produce a ticket by a waiter serving tea and coffee.

He then continued offering refreshments, without asking anyone to prove they were in possession of the correct ticket, before he came to Mr Smith.

Mr Smith queried whether the incident was a coincidence on his Twitter feed.

After a fellow passenger complained, the train manager apologised for the waiter's behaviour.

Virgin then apologised to the athlete, who won the silver medal on the pommel horse at London 2012, and said it was looking into the incident as a matter of urgency.