Train station assaults rise

The number of assaults on passengers at railway stations has soared, figures from the Conservatives have shown.

Half of the 10 most dangerous stations are in London, while Leeds had the most assaults in 2005-06, according to the statistics gained from British Transport Police. Victoria station in London, which had just five recorded assaults in 2001-02, had as many as 71 in 2005-06, while at London Bridge station assault figures leapt from none in 2001-02 to 51 in 2004-05 and 45 in 2005-06.

Assaults on passengers at Manchester Victoria station have gone up from 10 in 2001-02 to 25 in 2005-06, while York station has seen a five-fold increase to 20 over the same period.

Shadow Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: "One of the promises the Government made in its 10-year [transport] plan was to ensure that people using public transport would see their journeys becoming safer. What these figures show is that in many parts of the country, passengers are far more likely to get mugged than they were five years ago. It really is time the Government got to grips with the law and order problem on our public transport system."