A man who apparently dyed his hair in an attempt to evade police was arrested after a bus driver was spat at by a racist.
Shocking footage was posted on social media showing a man spitting at the driver, hitting the cab and shouting racist abuse.
The film was shot in the London district of Hillingdon and was widely shared on the Internet, including by a former police officer.
Scotland Yard said on Friday (9 August) that officers believed the shots were fired two days ago at a bus stop in Coldharbour Lane in Hayes.
The Roads and Transport Policing Command of London’s Metropolitan Police launched an investigation and condemned all such abuses in the capital.
A police spokeswoman said in an update: “Investigators from the Roads and Transport Command have been working with local officers to conduct urgent enquiries following this incident.”
“Despite having dyed his hair to change his appearance, a suspect was identified and arrested on suspicion of racially motivated assault by beating.”
Rosie Trew, head of bus services at Transport for London, told Express.co.uk: “We are shocked and appalled by this video of abuse directed at one of our colleagues. We will not tolerate this behaviour.”
The alleged racist attack came after figures showed that attacks on TfL staff rose by 10 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year.
Between January 2022 and June 2023, there were 638 cases of physical abuse of bus drivers, according to ITV.
The alleged attack in Hayes also came against a backdrop of rising tensions between communities in parts of the UK, with violent unrest breaking out in cities such as Rotherham, Leeds, Hartlepool and Liverpool.
