Tour bus driver 'throttles woman to the ground after being filmed skipping a red light'

One eye witness said the driver was stood over the victim 'like Muhammed Ali and started arguing with the people who came to help'

(The Evening Standard)

A passer-by filmed the shocking moment a tour bus driver stopped her vehicle in the middle of a road and ran out and "throttled" a woman on London's South Bank.

In video obtained by the Evening Standard, the driver of a Golden Tours bus can be seen grasping a woman by the neck in the street, holding up a motorbike and other traffic as they grapple in the middle of Stamford Street, just in front of the driver's bus.

It is believed the 27-year-old victim, a graduate at King’s College London, had filmed the bus driver apparently skipping a red light. It was, allegedly, for this reason that the driver stopped her vehicle and attacked the woman.

The victim can be heard yelling, "Let go of me, you need to let go of me" as the driver holds her throat, replying, "You took my picture! Delete my picture!"

The driver, believed to be in her thirties, eventually wrestles the KCL graduate to the ground, where she is seen lying on the pavement, clutching her throat.

People can be seen crowding around the victim and criticising the driver: “What are you doing? Aren’t you supposed to be driving that bus.. and you’ve done this?” asks one of the witnesses.

One witness told the Evening Standard that the driver "assaulted the pedestrian, grabbed her and dragged her onto the pavement. The driver was stood over her like Muhammed Ali and started arguing with the people who came to help."

The driver eventually boards the Golden Tours bus and drives away, leaving the 27-year-old victim still lying on the floor.

Police said they were looking into allegations of an assault, which took place at 5:55pm on June 16, while the driver's contract with the tour company has been terminated, the Evening Standard reported.

A spokesperson for Golden Tours, which runs daily 10-hour sightseeing trips through the capital for £99 per person, said: “We are aware of this. We had CCTV cameras on our vehicles and have viewed the footage.

“She was an agency driver and her contract was terminated straight away when it was brought to our attention.”