Man arrested after he ‘punched woman in the face’ when she asked him to stop manspreading on New York subway

Sam Saia says attack was so forceful she 'felt blood' after hitting her head on the wall

A man has reportedly been arrested after he allegedly punched a woman in the face for complaining about him "manspreading".

Derek Smith, a 56-year-old from Brooklyn, New York, was charged with assaulting Sam Saia while on a train.

Ms Saia said the incident occurred after she asked Smith for room as he was sitting beside her on a train with his legs wide apart.

The assault was apparently so severe that Ms Saia said she “felt blood” after hitting her head.

"I sat down and I existed, and I think this guy had a problem with that. He just started manspreading me extra and pushing me into the wall," Ms Saia told CBS News.

"I just looked at him and said, 'Alright, just calm down, just relax.’”

Ms Saia said telling Smith to relax and ignoring him only made the situation worse, and that he started to shout at her before punching her in the face.

"He just started looking at me and said, 'B***h, don't ignore me,' and he started elbowing me. So I looked at him and [he punched me], and I banged my head into the wall. After that, I just felt blood," she said.

Video footage has emerged showing Victor Conde, a 29-year-old who was on the train, coming to Ms Saia’s rescue.

He confronted Smith, held his arms down and forced him to get off the train.

"The slogan is, 'See something, say something.' Who are you going to say it to at that moment? I had to do something," Mr Conde said.