Chaotic moment brawl breaks out in packed Tube station with TODDLER stuck in middle of mayhem
The fight allegedly broke out between three men at Highbury and Islington Station on Thursday, July 17, at around 5.30pm.
5
5
5
Video footage shows the stressful moment a group of men start violently punching and kicking one another as commuters rush to get out of the way.
Amidst the chaos is a young toddler seen abandoned at the bottom of the stairs.
Nearby, a baby in a buggy can be seen crying as the fight breaks out on the opposite side of the barrier and the stairwell descends into chaos.
The video starts just after the brawl has begun, with a man on the floor being repeatedly punched by a group of men.
A suited man who ran up the stairs quickly begins stomping on the head of the grey tracksuit-wearing man.
Another commuter coming down the stairs tries to pull him away before another man intervenes, with the pair managing to restrain him from the attack.
The man in the suit then leans over the divider on the stairwell, grabs a rucksack and launches it backwards.
Once he is released by his detainees he then immediately rejoins the fight.
Several men lift the man in the tracksuit into the air as he thrashes wildly, kicking at the others.
The suited man then continues to kick him repeatedly before the man being attacked is dropped onto his back on the stairs.
Video shows a Mercedes driver and his passenger brawling on the street in Leeds with residents armed with weapons
He can then be seen trying to crawl up the stairs while at least three men continue to punch him.
Meanwhile commuters can be seen waiting at the top of the stairs as they watch the fight, or trying to dash quickly past.
A woman who had been holding the buggy can be heard screaming throughout the video as she earlier rushed towards the toddler.
The man who had earlier detained the alleged attacker eventually gives up, backing away from the ongoing altercation.
Another woman also tries to resolve the situation but backs away when she nearly gets caught by a punch.
She discourages a woman in a yellow dress from getting involved in the situation as she can be seen holding the arm of one of the reported attackers.
The woman then grabs one of the other men as the video cuts out.
5
British Transport Police hasn't yet released details of the incident, however, eyewitnesses claim one man punched the other while he was holding the baby, causing the toddler to fall to the ground.
The force said in a statement: "Officers received a report of a fight at Highbury and Islington Underground station at around 5.30pm yesterday.
'Officers are aware of footage circulating on social media, and the incident is currently being investigated.'
Anyone with information is asked to text 61016 with reference 558 of 17 July.
Comments on the video expressed concern for the toddler who had been left sitting on the floor throughout the ordeal.
One wrote: "Crazy, that poor kid could have been trampled."
Another said: "Odd that no one is picking up that baby and he is at risk of that whole nest of violence falling down upon him, and they'd most probably carry on brawling on top of him."
A comment reads: "This is just awful. That poor little boy on the floor. I do hope he's ok."
Metropolitan Police said that the incident was being handled by British Transport Police as the incident took place inside the station.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
10 minutes ago
- The Independent
Elite police unit to monitor social media for anti-migrant posts
An elite unit of detectives is being convened to monitor social media for anti-migrant posts. The National Internet Intelligence Investigations team will operate from the National Police Coordination Centre (NPoCC) in Westminster, drawing officers from forces across England and Wales. The unit will be tasked with flagging early signs of potential civil unrest and 'maximizing social media intelligence', after last year's riots exposed gaps in police planning. Home Office ministers say it will give local commanders national support to spot and respond to online threats. The move comes as protests outside asylum hotels spread across the country. On Saturday, crowds gathered in Norwich, Leeds and Bournemouth to demand action, with further demonstrations planned. Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner warned the Cabinet that ministers must tackle 'the real concerns that people have' about immigration to prevent disorder. Critics seized on the plan, branding it 'disturbing' and warning of free‑speech infringements. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp accused the Government of trying 'to police what you post, what you share, what you think' because it 'can't police the streets' itself. 'Labour have stopped pretending to fix Britain and started trying to mute it,' he added, accusing ministers of favouring surveillance over frontline policing. The NPoCC, which led the nationwide police response to Covid lockdowns under Operation Talla, will co‑ordinate the new unit. Details of the unit emerged in a letter to MPs from Dame Diana Johnson, the policing minister, published before parliament's summer recess. She confirmed ministers were acting on recommendations from the Commons Home Affairs Committee and His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, both of which urged a nationally co‑ordinated social‑media monitoring capability. Dame Diana wrote that the new team 'will provide a national capability to monitor social media intelligence and advise on its use to inform local operational decision‑making,' helping forces to manage public‑safety threats and risks. While initial funding runs until 2026, she said future support would depend on spending priorities. A Home Office spokesman said: 'This new team will help police forces track real-time information and protect communities from incidents and emergencies before they escalate. 'As part of the government's Plan for Change, we are restoring visible, neighbourhood policing, focused on the public's priorities, including halving knife crime and violence against women, clamping down on theft and anti-social behaviour, and ensuring that people can feel safe in their own high streets.'
The Sun
10 minutes ago
- The Sun
Forty per cent of Channel boat migrants who were asked lied about their age & often claim to be kids
FORTY per cent of Channel boat migrants who have claimed to be kids were actually found to be adults when challenged. The shock statistic shows the extent some will go to in a bid to cheat the asylum system. Among them were 1,305 from Afghanistan caught lying about their age to get special protection here. Many are thought to have destroyed their identity documents before arriving in Britain. Child refugees cannot be deported and must be given the same level of healthcare, education and sustenance as British children in care. Home Office figures obtained by The Sun on Sunday show that from mid-2022 to June 2024, 11,449 age disputes were raised by UK Border Force staff. Some 8,791 were resolved with 3,570 — 40 per cent — having lied about being under 18. Last year, 56 per cent of disputes involved migrants claiming to be kids being identified as adults. Over the two-year period, 1,305 caught lying were from Afghanistan, while Sudan was second with 571. And 355 Iranians, 325 Eritreans and 318 Vietnamese asylum seekers were caught out pretending to be kids. Last week, a report by the borders inspector David Bolt found immigration staff show a 'lack of curiosity' about the real age of Channel migrants. In one case, an Iranian with grey hairs and stubble was accepted as 17. Thick mud TRAPS channel migrants on UK-bound dinghy hours before Macron crunch talks AI age assessment tech is to be rolled out next year. Former Tory minister Sir Alec Shelbrooke blasted: 'These figures show the scale of soft touch Britain.' The Home Office was asked to comment. A male migrant suffered a fatal cardiac arrest on a boat which launched from Equihen-Plage in northern France yesterday morning. 1
Daily Mail
10 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Home Secretary to make crowding more than 80 migrants into small boats a criminal offence – but critics say it'll do nothing to stem the tide
Yvette Cooper will use new laws to prosecute migrants who dangerously overcrowd small boats and put women and children at risk. The Home Secretary has ordered officials to expand the 'endangering lives at sea' offence, currently going through Parliament, to specifically include cases where up to 100 passengers can pack on to a single dinghy. It comes as the number of people per small boat has reached record levels this year, with insiders warning it is 'a matter of time' before one sinks from overcrowding. Ms Cooper is worried about women and children being 'crushed at sea' and told this newspaper: 'If you storm a boat, trampling over the bodies of tiny children, you are complicit in putting other people in danger.' She wants to use the new powers in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill to tackle migrants who overcrowd the dinghies. But critics suggested the plan was 'pathetic tinkering' that will not make a difference in stemming the flow of illegal migrants to Britain. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: 'The only way we're going to stop the boats is to do what America are doing. Deport every single illegal immigrant upon arrival – either to their home country or a third country like Rwanda.' And The Mail on Sunday can reveal the second-most overcrowded boat crossed the Channel on July 18 – with 97 on board, including 22 women and 17 children. The dinghy spent around ten hours limping towards the Channel's midpoint before eventually being rescued by a Border Force catamaran. The number of boats carrying 80 or more people has spiked in the past six months, helped by French officials doing nothing to stop smugglers bringing 'taxi boats' close to shore. By contrast, five years ago the dinghies typically had about 15 on board, sources said, and smugglers have been driven by greed to cram more people on amid helpful calmer seas. In the six years since the small-boat crossings began, up to the end of April 2024, only 20 boats crossed with 80 or more people on board. There have been 50 such dinghies after that point, and more than a third of those have arrived in the past two months. Ms Cooper's proposals would allow the Government to prosecute anyone found to be enabling boat overcrowding, or endangering passengers' lives by refusing help from French lifeguards (which would involve them not crossing the Channel). A Home Office official said: 'If the smuggling gangs carry on cramming 80, 90 or even 100 people on to these flimsy dinghies, it is simply a matter of time before the bottom falls out of one of them, and we will see a mass casualty event in the Channel. 'We should not have to wait for that to happen before we take action, which is why we need to get this endangerment law on the statute books and start enforcing it against anyone responsible for putting the lives of women and children at risk.' Tony Smith, former director general of the Border Force, said that anything combatting the 'vile' people-smuggling trade was welcome. But he added the 'devil would be in the detail' of Ms Cooper's powers, warning that pilots of small boats try to conceal themselves among other migrants as their dinghies approach the authorities. All migrants who come to the UK on small boats breach the law of illegal arrival, but usually seek asylum immediately – which makes prosecution harder as they wait for their applications to be processed. Only 1 per cent of all those who entered illegally since Labour came to power have been charged. Ms Cooper is also pushing for French police to start targeting such boats at the moment when smugglers bring them to shore, and force migrants wading through water before boarding to turn back. The Home Secretary said: 'We won't stand by as lives are put at risk and our border security is so badly undermined. That is why we are making it much easier to prosecute those who act in this callous and dangerous way.' She added: 'Vile people smugglers are increasingly cramming more and more people into these flimsy boats to inflate their profits with no regard for the lives they put at risk. Women and children are put into the centre of the boats where we have even seen people crushed to death.' But Opposition frontbenchers claimed the plan would not be enough to tackle overcrowding. Mr Philp said: 'It's pathetic. A piece of tinkering that will make absolutely no difference whatsoever. The Government promised to smash the gangs but has totally failed to do that. The gangs are using bigger boats and cramming more in just so they can make more money. 'It is already a criminal offence to facilitate illegal immigration with a long prison sentence. They need to start enforcing that, not replicating existing legislation.'
