This is the shocking moment a man ran around a London Underground station attacking another male before being pinned down by hero bystanders.
Extraordinary footage showed one man in a black coat and trousers chasing another man wearing a black shirt and white trousers around the Earl’s Court ticket hall.
Shocked onlookers watched yesterday afternoon as the victim tried to defend himself with a metal leaflet stand before the attacker ran after him towards the station exit.
The victim then ran back into the station as the attacker continued to give chase, pushing over a notice board as they both bumped into innocent bystanders.
He eventually managed to get away by pushing through a wide aisle ticket barrier – and when the attacker could not get through himself, he ran away from the scene.
However, he was caught by a member of Transport for London (TfL) staff and two other men before being pinned to the ground until police arrived.
The man, aged in his 20s, was then arrested by British Transport Police (BTP) on suspicion of three counts of common assault and taken into custody.
A video of the chase entitled ‘Bro was trying to steal his watch’ was posted on TikTok by user Sye @ellumsy3 and has already racked up 1.5million views.
Comments included: ‘Nobody helped… s**t of everyone TBH’; ‘A lot of people there, nobody help, why?; and ‘Sadly this is becoming more common now’.
A follow-up clip of the man being pinned down has also had 9,000 views. But BTP later clarified that there was no suggestion of any attempted watch theft.
A BTP spokesman told MailOnline: ‘Officers were called at around 1.40pm yesterday to a report of a man attacking staff and a member of the public at Earl’s Court Underground station.
‘Members of the public had detained the man prior to police arrival and a man, aged 20, was arrested on suspicion of three counts of common assault and taken into custody.
‘Although enquiries are ongoing, there is currently no suggestion that the incident was related to an attempted watch theft.’
A spokeswoman for TfL added: ‘Everyone should feel safe and be safe when travelling in London.
‘We are investigating this footage and we encourage anyone who witnessed or experienced this incident to report this to the British Transport Police.’
Earl’s Court station, which is served by District and Piccadilly line trains, was opened in 1871 and is on the border of zones one and two in West London.
BTP said anyone who saw the incident is asked to contact the force by texting 61016, or by calling 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference 334 of June 23. It added that information can also be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
