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Hero train passenger 'attacked as he defended worker from racists shouting 'Allahu Akbar' at London Bridge station'

Journalist Peter Yeung said he intervened when he saw three men shouting racist abuse at female member of staff in London Bridge on Saturday: Peter Yeung
Journalist Peter Yeung said he intervened when he saw three men shouting racist abuse at female member of staff in London Bridge on Saturday: Peter Yeung

A Londoner has told how he was attacked while defending a train station worker from racist abuse at London Bridge station.

Peter Yeung, 26, said he saw three men shouting "Allahu Akbar" and making shooting gestures at a female member of railway staff on Saturday evening.

After he intervened, Mr Yeung claims he was grabbed into a headlock by one of the men.

Mr Yeung, a journalist at the Times, stepped in to help when he overheard three white men hurling racist slurs at a member of staff while he travelled home to Camberwell on Saturday, November 18.

The employee, a woman in her 40s, "appeared to be Arabic", he told the Standard.

Mr Yeung said: "She [the railway worker] was sweeping.

"There was three guys standing on the corner shouting 'Allahu Akbar' and 'you are a dirty Arab'."

"They were making shooting gestures at her", he added.

After asking the men to stop, Mr Yeung claimed the men started to shout racist abuse at him instead.

He said: "I'm mixed race, Asian by appearance. They started shouting abuse at me."

Mr Yeung said he was later caught in a headlock by one of the men and suffered "light bruising" after alerting station staff to the incident.

"I went back to take photos," Mr Yeung said.

"Then one of the men came over and grabbed me by the neck and tried to take my phone. He got me in a head lock."

Passengers at London Bridge station. (Getty Images)
Passengers at London Bridge station. (Getty Images)

A spokesperson for British Transport Police said: "We have received a report of a racially aggravated common assault and a racially aggravated public order offence against a member of railway staff and member of the public at London Bridge.

"The incident happened at around 6pm on Saturday 18 November.

"Officers are making enquiries and have been in contact with the victim.

"If anyone has any information please call 0800 40 50 40 or text 61016 quoting reference number 189 of 19 November."

Southeastern Rail told the Standard they advised Mr Yeung to report the incident to BTP. A spokesperson said they passed his tweets to their eyewitness team, which monitors hotspots and trends in anti-social behaviour at our station.