Tulse Hill station: Man with machete Tasered Published duration 15 January 2019 Related Topics London violence

media caption The machete-wielding man was filmed from a nearby train

A machete-wielding man was Tasered on a railway station platform as "terrified" rush hour commuters looked on.

Police pinned the man - filmed waving a "massive" blade at Tulse Hill station in South London - to the ground shortly after 18:30 GMT on Monday.

Witnesses described "chaos" as he chased people with the weapon.

A 59-year-old man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and possessing an offensive weapon has since been sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

The suspect, from Croydon, was sectioned after being assessed by medics, British Transport Police (BTP) said.

Asst Ch Con Robin Smith, from BTP, added: "This would have been a particularly frightening incident for those passengers at the station or on board trains a Tulse Hill station.

"I am especially grateful to our Metropolitan Police colleagues who did a great job in detaining this man."

image copyright @Vikjas85 image caption The man was pinned to the ground by officers after he was Tasered on the station platform

One witness @Vikjas85 tweeted: "Man at Tulse Hill Station with a massive machete just been Tasered by the police."

Many people have also taken to social media to praise police for their quick action.

Mattvan Pricey said: "Congratulations to the officers who responded to last night's incident at Tulse Hill completely professional in managing a volatile situation in a safe manner."

Social media user Caroline said: "Well done as always to the police - you do a great job all the time and thank you for preventing fatalities and injuries - my husband at Tulse Hill at the time."

BTP said there were no reported injuries and what happened was not believed to be terror-related.