Police are appealing for witnesses after a 64-year-old bus driver was seriously assaulted on Battersea Bridge in the early hours of Monday, leaving him in a critical condition in hospital.
Metropolitan Police officers were called to the bridge at 12.33am on Monday, 18 May, following reports of an assault involving a Transport for London bus driver.
Emergency first aid was administered at the scene before the victim was taken to hospital by London’s Air Ambulance, where he remains in a critical condition.
A 32-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and remains in police custody.
Detectives believe the incident followed a confrontation on the pavement beside a stationary bus at a stop on the bridge, although enquiries into the exact circumstances surrounding the attack remain ongoing.
Detective Superintendent Fiona Van Kampen, from the Met’s Southwest Borough Command Unit, described the incident as deeply concerning for the local community and said officers were urgently working to establish what happened.
She said:
“This took place on one of London’s busiest bridges, so we are urgently appealing for anyone with information to come forward. Our officers are working urgently to establish the full circumstances of the attack.
“We recognise the intense concern this will cause within the local community. Our thoughts remain with the victim’s family as enquiries continue.”
Police are particularly keen to hear from anyone who was travelling across Battersea Bridge in the early hours of Monday morning and may have witnessed the incident.
Officers have also urged drivers or pedestrians with dashcam or mobile phone footage to come forward as part of the investigation.
The attack is likely to raise further concerns around the safety of frontline transport workers across London, particularly those working late-night routes.
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101, quoting reference CAD 174/18May. Those wishing to remain anonymous can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
