A woman racially abused and kicked a mother-of-three in the stomach during a sickening attack on the London Underground.

The mother, in her thirties, was targeted after getting on an eastbound Central line train from Oxford Circus with her two children, aged between two and five.

Violence erupted after another woman, seated opposite, started swearing loudly and the victim asked her to stop. Police have not released either the race of the victim or the abuser and have not replied to MailOnline's request for comment.

The passenger then became aggressive and racially abusive, shouting at the children and threatening to kidnap them in a 20-minute 'torrent of verbal abuse', police said.

Police would like to speak to this woman after a mother-of-two was racially abused and assaulted on a Central Line Tube train

The victim got up to challenge the woman, who kicked her in the stomach before getting off at Mile End station in east London.

The incident, which left the woman's young children 'visibly upset', was reported to British Transport Police by the victim.

Officers released CCTV images and are looking to speak to the woman after the 'aggressive and disgraceful' incident on an eastbound Central Line train at 6.30pm on December 28.

PC Alom Uddin, the officer investigating the assault, said: 'This was an utterly awful experience for the woman and her children, who were all terrified by the woman's aggressive and disgraceful actions. The children were all visibly upset.

The mother, in her thirties, was targeted after getting on an eastbound Central line train from Oxford Circus with her two children, aged between two and five

'We will never tolerate hate crime on the rail network and are working hard to identify the person responsible.'

A passenger captured a picture of the woman, who had long, wavy, dark brown hair, and wore a dark green jacket and grey trousers.

Police are still trying to identify her.

Witnesses or those with information are urged to text BTP on 61016 or call 0800 40 50 40, quoting reference 362 of 28/12/2017.

Crimestoppers can also be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111.