Thug smashes train window in attack rage
COMMUTERS were horrified as they watched a yob who boarded a Southport bound train smash a window and attack a woman on the platform.
A male, who had apparently been involved in a slanging match with two women – both aged about 20 – on the opposite platform, boarded the 16.41 from Moorfields to Southport at Bootle New Strand on Monday, February 3.
Passengers on the train became aware that the man, described as between 18-23 years of age with distinctive red hair and wearing a tracksuit, was getting increasingly irate.
Kylie Jane Broad, production control manager for Reach Regionals, wastravelling home to Southport when she saw him get on.
She said: “At that point I could hear them, but it wasn’t audible and nothing that caused me any concern. He kind of shouted a little bit but got on. Then when the doors were shutting it escalated and he got more irate.”
As the doors closed the man continued to shout at the women on the platform. In an attempt to get back off he hit the doors and pushed several people out of the way when they tried to intervene. He then grabbed hold of the bars in the carriage to get momentum and succeeded in smashing one of the windows with his foot.
Kylie said: “He was screaming ‘let me off, I have to get off’.
“He started to batter the doors and then started to kick them. People were asking him to stop and calm down but he just carried on. He was really going for it. The noise was ridiculous. All the passengers were panicking.”
He succeeded in getting off and passengers saw him run over to one of the women, grab her by the hair and drag her across the platform.
The woman fell to the floor and the thug proceeded to punch and kick her.
The train guard tried to intervene but the yob was so violent he managed to get free and carried on beating up the woman.
A passenger who had been travelling on the train with a dog got off and let his dog off the lead in an attempt to help.
Kylie said: “In the 12 years I’ve been commuting I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like it.
“As quickly as it happened it stopped, they disappeared, I think they ran off. We got chucked off the train for obvious reasons, and the guard and the train driver then had to forcefully close the broken doors and the train left.
“Then no police, no staff, no nothing.
“The next three trains were packed, which can’t be helped, but to add to our experience we had two people with bikes trying to get on the packed trains, who’d got chucked off ours, and they were ramming their bikes into people on the trains, getting angry and then kicking off with still no staff to help.”
The Visiter contacted British Transport police who said the smashed window had been reported at 6.30pm but the assault has not been reported to the police.
Anyone with any information about the incident is encouraged to contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.