Hero commuters detain suspect who 'attacked fellow passenger' at London station

The incident happened at East Croydon railway station
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Patrick Grafton-Green10 January 2018
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Heroic commuters banded together to detain a suspect who allegedly hit a fellow passenger during rush hour at a busy south London station.

A scuffle broke out near the ticket barriers at East Croydon station at about 9am on Tuesday, leaving one man in hospital.

Witnesses quickly stepped in and formed a barrier to prevent the suspect from fleeing until emergency services arrived.

Katherine Heubeck, 27, who called the police, said it was "heartening" to see such "goodness".

She told the Standard: “As I was getting through the barriers I could see a group of guys in a scuffle.

“One guy was asking people to call the police; he was saying ‘he’s getting away’.

“I could a see a middle-aged guy being helped by commuters, bleeding from his face, there was blood on his hand.

“I called 999, while I was on the phone there were people making sure the guy who hit him wasn’t getting away, blocking the stairs.

Katherine Heubeck witnessed the incident on Tuesday morning

“When it was at its busiest there were about 15 people there making sure it was as busy and difficult an area to get away from."

One person had grabbed the suspect by the arm while another comforted the victim, Ms Heubeck said.

She added: “A guy was holding the attacker by the arm, making sure he wasn’t getting anywhere.

“He was trying to push people out of the way and run off, then he calmed down for a bit and said ‘I am not going to run, I am not going to run’. But as soon as someone slackened he tried to make off.

“One lady in particular was looking after the victim, crouched down next to him until he was able to sit when she sat down next to him.

“It wasn’t what you’d expect from London commuters during rush hour."

A spokesman for BTP said: “We were called to East Croydon station just before 9am yesterday to reports that a man had been assaulted.

“A 51-year-old man sustained injuries to his face and was taken to hospital for treatment.

“A 58-year-old man from Crowborough in East Sussex was arrested on suspicion of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and travelling on the railway without paying a fare.

“He has been released under investigation. Enquiries are ongoing.”

If anyone who has not already spoken to police and has any information about what happened, please call BTP on 0800 40 50 40 or text 61016, quoting reference number 100 of 09/01/18.

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