'I questioned a fare dodger; he punched me in the face'

A TfL worker tells Rebecca Whittaker how violence is just part of the job for those who patrol London's Underground

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Garthfield Whyte has been punched, spat at and racially abused all in the line of his work - and it is only getting more dangerous. Violence, aggression and antisocial behaviour have become a typical part of his job patrolling London's Tube network on the hunt for fare-evaders.

The 47-year-old is a transport support enforcement officer at Transport for London (TfL) and can recall several incidents where fare-dodgers have lashed out after being questioned, putting his safety at risk.

Whyte is not alone - more than 800 reports of physical incidents were made by TfL staff over the past year.

This figure balloons when verbal aggression is included, with more than 10,490 reports of work-related violence and aggression made by TfL workers in 2023/24 - a 5 per cent increase on the previous year. About half of these incidents were triggered by staff approaching fare-evaders.

Whyte was grabbed by a passenger who tried to fare-dodge at Tottenham Court Road earlier this month.