A pregnant woman was kicked by a man who put his feet in her lap after verbally abusing her in an "appalling" attack on a Tube train, police said.

The 34-year-old had asked a man travelling with a group of people on a Northern Line train to move his feet to allow her to sit down.

After complying with his request, police said the man became abusive before placing his feet on her lap and starting to kick her.

Other members of the group he was travelling with joined in by verbally abusing the woman.

As the train pulled in to Waterloo station the group assaulted her again before running off to board a Jubilee Line train.

Detectives today released CCTV images of four people wanted in connection with the incident at around 7.30am on Sunday, May 24.

DC Oliver Carne said: “This was an appalling attack on a pregnant woman and her unborn child.

"The woman is in the early stages of pregnancy, but thankfully the baby was unharmed, I am extremely keen to speak to the people in the CCTV images as they may have witnessed what happened on the day."

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 0800 40 50 40, or text 61016, quoting reference T-SUB/B12 of 19/06/15. They can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.