Transport staff need more protection against attacks, union says

In February, the London Assembly Transport Committee heard from front-line workers as part of an investigation into assaults on transport staff.

Luke Banks, a revenue control officer on the London Underground, was assaulted at King’s Cross Station last year after stepping in to defend a colleague who was being threatened.

He told assembly members: “The customer turned on me, shoved us both in the chest and started screaming death threats.”

Paul Feakes, a fellow revenue control inspector, was punched twice by a member of the public and “dragged across the ticket hall floor”.

A senior front-line staffer said the levels of abuse “seem to have hit record levels following a hollowing out of the workforce”.

They added: “We’ve seen a lot more opportunists trying to travel for free, while violence against staff is through the roof. We’ve had broken jaws, eye sockets, brain damage – that used to be super rare even a decade ago, now it’s commonplace.”