The man was brazenly brushing his teeth on the platform in front of other commuters (Picture: Melissa Thermidor)

London commuters you might want to brace yourselves, for a man has been spotted brushing his teeth on an Underground platform.

The passenger was caught on camera brazenly cleaning his teeth while waiting for the Tube at Euston – before spitting the toothpaste out onto the platform floor.

Melissa Thermidor, 37, who snapped the photo, told Metro.co.uk: ‘It was around 9.45am, I was coming from Bushey and waiting for the Northern line, the Bank branch.

‘He was walking in front of me and I’d noticed he had a toothbrush in his mouth, but at first I thought that can’t be a brush. It must be for show or something.




‘When we stopped, I saw that he was actively brushing, but I still had faith in humanity, like maybe he’ll swallow it. Maybe there’s nothing in there.

Melissa Therms described the platform as ‘packed’ (Picture: Melissa Thermidor)

‘Then he proceeded to spit on the platform in front of everyone and boarded the next train and left. It was absolutely disgusting.

‘This is peak rush hour. There were plenty of places for him to go somewhere else. He could have asked anyone around him for a tissue or a napkin.’

The platform had been so packed, Melissa, who is the social media lead for NHS Blood and Transplant, said she couldn’t even fit on the next carriage.

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She added: ‘We don’t know his personal circumstances or whether there was a mental health issue there, but he was smirking a bit.

‘It felt like he was well aware of what he was doing. Almost like it was cool what he was doing.’

Melissa also said no one on the platform confronted the man, but several people moved away from where he was standing.

The first thing that came to her mind was the health and safety hazard spitting on the platform floor could cause.

He then spat out the toothpaste onto the platform floor (Picture: Melissa Thermidor)

She continued: ‘Commutes in the morning are already generally a bit hectic as it is. The biggest thing that came to mind for me was the germs, or what if someone had slipped and fallen.

‘There are a lot of children travelling at that time in the morning. There were plenty of alternative places he could have disposed of it.

‘There was even a TfL worker on the platform he could have spoken to if he needed help or assistance.’

It’s not the first time the London Underground has witnessed flagrant breaches of conduct, with a series of men boarding trains topless during the heatwave earlier this year.

The half-naked men were photographed by fellow passengers climbing on board carriages wearing just shorts and a pair of shoes.

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While in October, one commuter photographed a giant white splodge on one of the poles in a Jubilee line carriage.

The image sparked a wide-scale conversation about what the mystery gloop could be, with suggestions including snot, phlegm and chewing gum.

Mark Evers, Transport for London’s Chief Customer Officer, told Metro.co.uk it is important that ‘everyone is able to travel comfortably’ on the Tube.



He continued: ‘We run regular “Considerate Travel” campaigns to raise awareness of how we can make travelling easier for fellow passengers.

‘This includes encouraging people to look up to see if a fellow passenger may be struggling to stand and needs a seat, and encouraging people not to play loud music, eat smelly food or wear a backpack on a crowded vehicle.

‘Clearly, spitting is unacceptable behaviour and is completely at odds with the work we do to ensure everyone has a pleasant journey.’

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