An elderly British man allegedly put a young boy in an arm-lock on a
train because he wouldn’t take his feet off a seat after telling him to
take them off several times.
The man, who is believed to be in his 70s, confronted the child on a
train from Lancashire, to Manchester on Friday afternoon.
According to witnesses, the three young boys, thought
to be between the ages of eight to 11, got on the train and were
travelling unaccompanied. They said the children had been sitting with
their feet on the seats, and were approached by the man who asked them
to put them down but they refused.
A 17 year old witness said:
“They were being quite cocky,” he said. “He threatened them with a ‘clip
around the ear’ and then went and sat back down. The children then put
their feet back up and wouldn’t take them down. The guy then went over
again and tried to take their feet down.”
It is at this point, when the train was near Bolton, that the man
allegedly put one of the boys into an arm lock, a photo of which, taken
by one of the other children, has since gone viral.
Photos of the incident appear to show him bending over and holding the
young boy’s arm behind him – as other passengers looked on.
Another witness who had been sitting near the boys on the train said
she repeatedly told the man to stop, and that after he let him go, the
boys stayed with her until they reached their destination and were met
by Northern Rail staff.
The British Transport Police confirmed it is investigating the alleged
assault, while Northern Rail is also looking into the incident. The
student said the incident was reported to the company who he says
handled the situation poorly.
A spokesman for Northern Rail said:
“We are currently investigating this incident. Because of this, it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to comment at this time.”
Source: Manchester Evening News
