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"We've got about 15 people handing out the tickets and hundreds of people have taken them," he said.

"It's not been a great morning for First Great Western - there are queues throughout the station and three of the ticket machines aren't working. The first train out of here was cancelled also.

"We also believe that no ticket collectors from First Great Western will be operating on the trains today.

"Several commuters heading for London have taken our protest tickets also so it will be interesting to see how they get on when they reach the capital."

The protesting commuters were backed by Bob Crow general secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport Union, who said: "Rail passengers in First Great Western are being treated worse than cattle and it is hardly surprising that they are up in arms."

First Great Western has cancelled more than 700 services in the past four weeks, mainly because of a shortage of trains.

Hundreds of passengers at Bath, Trowbridge, Keynsham, Bradford-upon-Avon and Salisbury are being left stranded on platforms, unable to squeeze on to trains that arrive already dangerously overcrowded. A fortnight ago a passenger fell into the gap between the train and platform at Bath Spa station as people surged towards the doors. Several other passengers have fainted on packed trains.

Train guards are frequently demanding that people get off and wait for the train behind, which turns out to be equally overcrowded.

Commuters from Maidenhead, Twyford and other stations in the Thames Valley are also enduring severe overcrowding, with many having to abandon their journeys, because First Great Western has introduced a new timetable that favours more profitable long-distance trains.

However, a First Great Western spokeswoman claimed today that the company was "working hard" to solve the overcrowding problem, with more staff having recently been recruited.

"We've strengthened a key morning commuter route, increasing the number of carriages from two to four, providing around 100 additional seats," she said.

"We will also be adding to our fleet of local trains in the West Country, providing more seating at peak times."

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