Kicking of ticket inspector led to six-week jail term for Paddington attacker
By Noah Vickers, Local Democracy Reporter
A man was imprisoned after pushing and repeatedly kicking a ticket inspector at a central London Tube station, according to newly released details about assaults on transport staff.
The attack took place at Paddington railway station on May 15 last year after the man was challenged by the inspector over a “revenue issue”. It was captured on video using the inspector’s body-worn camera.
According to papers published ahead of next week’s Transport for London (TfL) board meeting, British Transport Police (BTP) arrested a man at the scene. He was charged with common assault.
After an initial plea of not guilty, the man is said to have changed his plea to guilty at the trial. TfL believes that the video evidence captured by the inspector’s camera may have contributed to the admission of guilt.
The man was sentenced to six weeks’ imprisonment on February 28 this year – more than nine months after the crime.
The board papers include details of two further notable accounts of violence against TfL staff over the last year.
At Stratford on August 1 last year, station staff are said to have been “racially abused by an intoxicated man”. The BTP arrested the man “for being drunk and disorderly, racially aggravated common assault and for assaulting a police officer”.
The suspect pleaded guilty to the offences on February 16 this year and was sentenced to nine weeks’ imprisonment.
At Seven Sisters on November 18, last year, a man spat at a TfL staff member who asked him to leave after he was found sleeping on a bench in the station.
“A spit kit was used to gather DNA evidence which identified the man and his details were circulated to police forces nationally,” the board papers state.
“He was subsequently arrested and charged with common assault. A guilty plea was entered on February 5, and the man was sentenced to 12 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to pay £300 compensation to the victim.”
TfL has said it is committed to doing all it can “to protect our colleagues and keep them safe in the workplace”, adding: “We have made significant progress against our strategy to eradicate work-related violence and aggression.”
Pictured top: Paddington railway station (Picture: Wikimedia Commons/mattbuck)
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