Southern Rail Staff Suspended After 'Pouring Dirty Mop Water On Homeless Man'

"That’s no way to treat a human being.”
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Two Southern Rail workers have been suspended after a video emerged of them apparently drenching a homeless man with dirty mop water.

The video, shot by a passenger, appears to show the man lying on the pavement outside Sutton station in south west London, as dirty water is poured on and around him. His plastic bag of belongings next to him is also soaked.

A spokesman for local homelessness charity Sutton Night Watch told HuffPost UK the man in the video is diabetic and regularly uses its soup kitchens.

He added: “It’s disgusting. That’s no way to treat a human being.”

The person who filmed the incident told The Sun station staff told her the man had been “causing problems” before they poured water on him.

But she added: “Two wrongs don’t make a right – regardless of what he’s done, you shouldn’t treat a human like that.”

The sentiment was echoed on Twitter, with many voicing disgust and disbelief at the incident.

Claire Jackson-Prior said the staff member should have contacted a homeless charity to help the man, “not treated him as filth to be washed away”.

A spokesman for Govia Thameslink Railway, which operates Southern services, said: “We take this incident extremely seriously and have started an investigation. The two staff members seen in the video have been suspended.

“We would like to apologise to the homeless man and we are trying to make contact with him to offer help and support.”