An 87-year-old woman was punched in the face on a bus in south London after stepping in to confront two girls in a row over a fare.
The woman suffered a black eye after being struck by one of the teenagers who had boarded the bus without paying.
A row started when the driver on the route 166 bus in Croydon refused to move off. Officers said the woman had “just wanted to get home” after being caught up in the dispute, which was captured on CCTV.
After about five to 10 minutes, as the stand-off continued, most of the passengers got off and the pensioner remonstrated with the girls.
Police said today it was unclear exactly which girl threw the punch.
A girl, 14, was later arrested on suspicion of ABH and taken to a south London police station.
Sergeant Arran Hillier, of the Croydon Safer Transport Team, said: “She spoke to the girls saying ‘please can you hurry up because I just want to get home’. They turned around and started laughing at her.”
As the woman got up to leave she brushed past one of the girls, who then turned and punched her.
Sergeant Hillier added: “This is shocking, it does not happen very often.
“This was an unprovoked attack on an old lady just trying to get home. The victim was very polite to these girls but they showed her no respect at all.”
He added that the pensioner had suffered a “very nasty” black eye but had recovered and was back travelling on buses again.
Her family had described her as having a “very stiff upper lip,” he said.
Police released CCTV footage of the incident which took place on Brighton Road, Coulsdon, shortly after 3.20pm on October 16.
The victim was taken by ambulance to St Helier Hospital near Sutton but discharged later the same day.
Sergeant Hillier said one of the girls had claimed that she was only 14 during the argument with the bus driver.
He added: "This was a nasty attack. We need as many people as possible to look at these images to see if anyone can give us a name.”
The girls ran away from the bus after the attack.
Police say they know the identity of a second female in the clip.
Anyone with information should contact Sergeant Hillier on 07825 386424 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
