A woman who racially abused and assaulted a mother on a London Underground train and threatened to have her children kidnapped is being sought by British Transport Police.
Officers released CCTV images and are looking to speak to the woman after the “aggressive and disgraceful” incident on an eastbound Central Line train at 6.30pm on December 28.
The assault took place after a woman in her thirties got on the train from Oxford Circus station with three children aged between two and five.
After another woman seated opposite started swearing loudly, the victim asked her to stop, as she did not want her children to hear it.
The woman then became aggressive and racially abusive, shouting at the children and threatening to kidnap them in a 20-minute “torrent of verbal abuse”, police said.
The victim got up to challenge the woman, who kicked her in the stomach before getting off at Mile End station in east London.
The incident, which left the woman’s young children “visibly upset”, was reported to BTP by the victim.
Police are looking to speak to this woman and are urging anyone with information to come forward (BTP/PA Images)
Pc Alom Uddin, the officer investigating the assault, said: “This was an utterly awful experience for the woman and her children, who were all terrified by the woman’s aggressive and disgraceful actions. The children were all visibly upset.
“We will never tolerate hate crime on the rail network and are working hard to identify the person responsible.”
A passenger captured a picture of the woman, who had long, wavy, dark brown hair, and wore a dark green jacket and grey trousers.
Police are still trying to identify her.
Witnesses or those with information are urged to text BTP on 61016 or call 0800 40 50 40, quoting reference 362 of 28/12/2017.
Crimestoppers can also be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111.