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A violent thug who headbutted a member of Transport for London (TfL) staff in front of horrified commuters on a busy London Underground platform has been jailed.

Christopher Howell, 50, from Upper Tulse Hill, in Lambeth, pleaded guilty to common assault at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on February 6.

The judge sentenced him to 26 weeks in prison.

On October 25 at about 7pm, the victim was working on a busy platform at Bank Tube station when he put his arm out to stop anyone further boarding a train which was about to depart.

Howell took exception to this and pushed past the victim, before head-butting him twice and forcing him backwards.

He then grabbed the victim by the neck and tried to drag him away.

Two members of the public, including an off duty police officer, intervened and separated the pair.

Officers then quickly arrived and arrested Howell. He made no comment in his police interview.

PC Ricky Nielsen from the British Transport Police said: "This was an outrageous act of violence towards an innocent member of Transport for London staff simply trying to do their job.

"Staff have every right to go to work without fear of violence and in this case, aggressive physical assault.

"I am pleased to see the judge hand Howell a custodial sentence, which reflects the seriousness of this incident. We will do everything we can to investigate offenders like this and bring them to justice."

Siwan Hayward, director of compliance, policing and on-street services for TfL, added: "Our staff have the right to do their job without fear or intimidation, in safety. This was an extremely violent incident at Bank station that left a staff member shaken.

"I hope this sentence serves as a warning to those who think it is acceptable to take their anger and frustration out on our people.

"We do not tolerate any form of physical or verbal assault on our staff or customers and as this sentencing shows, we pursue the strongest sentences for anyone who abuses or assaults our staff."