A man is reported to have verbally attacked train passengers with racist abuse and allegedly threatened a woman who filmed the incident

19 April 2024 , 12:10

456     0

A man is reported to have verbally attacked train passengers with racist abuse and allegedly threatened a woman who filmed the incident

A man has been filmed yelling racist abuse at people on a train before he allegedly threatened a woman who started filming him.

The unidentified male was heard shouting ‘this is England’ and calling passengers ‘f***ing foreign c***s’ on a Thameslink service travelling near Croydon, south London, on Thursday.

After a passenger calls his tirade ’embarrassing’, a second man next to the male, appearing to mishear the comment, shouts: ‘It’s not about race, it’s not about race.’

Another passenger then intervenes, telling the first to man to ‘chill out’ before telling him: ‘You’re getting thrown out now.’

Mary Mandefield, a presenter on Hits Radio, said the man threatened her as soon as he saw her filming.

She said he and at least one other man had been ‘starting on anyone’, including a woman in her 70s, used racist slurs and threw punches.

It’s thought the men were then ejected from the train at the next stop, East Croydon.

Writing on X, Ms Mandefield said police were called and ‘a woman with a [Southeastern railways] jacket on … stepped in and was amazing, even though they then went for her’.

‘I get the train every day, easily the most horrendous journey & experience I’ve had’, she added.

Thameslink was investigating the incident on Thursday evening and said it would try to ‘check on customers at stations’.

Ms Mandefield praised the operator for responding swiftly to her concerns via social media.

Sam Facey, Govia Thameslink Railway’s Safety, Health and Security Director, said: ‘Behaviour like this is completely unacceptable and will never be tolerated. This was a horrible experience for those involved.

‘We would like to thank railway staff who intervened and the British Transport Police officers who responded so promptly. We will continue to assist the BTP with their enquiries.’

British Transport Police has been approached for comment.

Elizabeth Baker