More women tell of assaults on Tubes and trains

A number of women have told the BBC they have been attacked by strangers on London's Tube and train network.

The new cases emerged after Sally Wynter shared her story - she was attacked in a Victoria line Tube carriage in central London on 27 March, and nobody answered the emergency calls she made from a help point on the platform.

Another woman, also called Sally, contacted BBC London after she too was attacked on the Victoria line - this time, at Warren Street Station on 3 April, the day Ms Wynter's experience was published.

A British Transport Police (BTP) spokesperson said public safety is its "number one priority".

Sally said she was attempting to board a Tube carriage at about 16:50 when a man obstructed her before shoving and hitting her.

"It was just so random, and it was so instant as well. I'm trying to kind of go through what made that person decide to aggress me."

The 50-year-old then described how the man acted "like nothing had happened and went back to reading his book."

She said no one intervened, but a man quietly asked if she was OK after the incident, and a female passenger gave up her seat.

When Sally got off the carriage and left Finsbury Park station, she spoke to a member of Transport for London (TfL) staff, who flagged down his manager and then contacted BTP.

BTP said it is investigating a report of assault and inquiries are ongoing, adding officers are particularly interested in speaking to two witnesses - the woman who offered her seat to Sally, and the man she interacted with.

Alex also contacted BBC London to say she was struck across the face with a rolled-up magazine or newspaper on the platform at Herne Hill Station in south London one afternoon in June 2022.

The 37-year-old said a man struck her from the side, so she did not have a chance to defend herself.

"At first I asked people if I was bleeding. Then I just remember asking why he did it. I just didn't understand why he attacked me."

She eventually boarded the train she had been waiting for and when she did, other passengers asked if she was OK. An off-duty BTP officer called British Transport Police.

She said the attack has made her always looks over her shoulder when travelling, wondering: "When can we be safe? When can we just be us and not worry?"

She was on her phone to her godmother when she was assaulted - now she never talks on her phone when travelling. She keeps her head down to avoid eye contact with anyone.

She added she felt more security measures, including plain clothes police officers, could help prevent attacks.

Sally Wynter told BBC London that she had a meeting with TfL on Wednesday, where she was told they would be "rolling out changes" to the help points.

This would include introducing a feature where if a call isn't answered within a certain timeframe it would be rerouted to a control centre with TfL staff and BTP, and stickers on help points across the network advising people on what to do.

A BTP spokesperson said officers are "across the rail network round the clock" to detect and deter crime and reassure the public, and said CCTV is also in place to help bring offenders to justice.

They added that anyone who witnesses a crime should text 61016 - and even if the text message doesn't send, there will be a timestamp of when the incident occurred.

Tube passengers should also note down the carriage number which is printed above windows at the end of each carriage.

Siwan Hayward, TfL's director of security, policing and enforcement, said their "priority" was protecting customers and staff from harm.

She said: "If anyone is a victim or witness a crime they should be able to access help and support straight away.

"We train our staff to support customers and to help report incidents to the police.

"We encourage our customers to report any incident to TfL staff and to the police, knowing that they will be taken seriously and that action will be taken."

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