The mother of a 13-year-old autistic boy who was attacked and threatened on the London Overground has said it is “sickening” that no one called the police.
Footage circulating on social media shows the teenager being slammed into the train door and punched as the train neared Carpenders Park station near Watford.
A man can be seen dragging the boy and trying to push him into the doors on both sides of the train as he shouts and swears at him.
The boy’s mother later saw the clip as it spread on social media after the victim kept the attack a secret, as he feared he would not be allowed to travel on his own again.
The mother, who asked not to be named to protect her son’s identity, told the Watford Observer: “I was sickened. I felt sick, cried, shaking, every emotion that you can possibly feel as a parent.
“Nobody helped, even all the adults, it took two men to come through the carriages and pull him off my son.”
It is understood that the victim has autism and ADHD and he had been travelling to his grandmother’s house in London when the attack happened.
Terrified bystanders can be seen fleeing along the train carriage during the attack.
The mother said she understood that bystanders may have been afraid of being attacked themselves but said it was “sickening” that police were not called at the time.
The clip shows someone trying to stop the scrap before the attacker can be heard shouting: “Why are you disturbing me? I am a big man, I am a big man. Understand this.”
When someone tells him to leave the boy alone, he added: “No, it’s not even like that.”
The British Transport Police has said it is investigating the incident which took place in late July.
A spokesperson said: 'Officers received a crime report from Hertfordshire Police after a 13-year-old boy was assaulted on a train at Watford High Street railway station at around 4pm on a date in late July. Enquiries are ongoing.'
A total of 16,288 crimes were reported on the Tube between January and August last year – up 13 per cent on the same period the previous year.
Roughly half of the crimes on the London Underground take place on trains.
Last week, a man was jailed for over a year for robbing a deaf woman in her 80s while she was on an escalator at Westminster Underground station.
Liam McGuicken put his hands against the victim's chest, pinning her against the handrail before he reached into her coat and stole her wallet.
The 53-year-old was arrested a month later at Sutton railway station after he was stopped by the Met Police following a fare evasion issue.
