A pram-pushing rail passenger who allegedly knocked a commuter unconscious is a 35-year-old father-of-one.
Adam Seymour, 35, is said to have sent John Adam flying after hitting him, leaving his victim with blood pouring out of his head at Clapham Junction Railway station.
Mr Adam, 45, spent 24 hours in hospital being treated for severe laceration, a severely cut lip. The 45-year-old had been arguing with staff about not wearing masks when he was allegedly attacked.
British Transport Police have now confirmed the 35-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of assault after the incident, as reported by The Sun. He has been released on bail while enquiries continue.
His mother Denise has said she is ‘devastated’ by the shocking footage of her son. She said: ‘I can’t believe he would do anything unprovoked.’
In the footage Mr Adam had been arguing with South Western Railway staff by the ticket barrier because one member was not wearing a mask.
Adam Seymour, 35, (pictured) is said to have sent John Adam flying after hitting him, leaving his victim with blood pouring out of his head at Clapham Junction Railway station
John Adam (pictured) was knocked unconscious by a pram-pushing rail passenger as he argued with station staff over face masks at Clapham Junction Railway station
Mr Seymour, in a grey hoodie, comes into the clip pushing a pram past the heated exchange. He had a child with him and was also not wearing a mask.
Mr John is heard saying ‘you’re not wearing one either’, which he said was not directed at the man.
In response, the man turns around and walks away from his pram shouting ‘don’t f****** start on me’ and punches William, knocking him to the floor unconscious.
The man quickly leaves the area with his pram and child, while William is seen bleeding on the ground.
Reliving the attack, Mr Adam, 43 told MailOnline: ‘I was very angry that some of the staff at Clapham were not wearing masks, particularly one woman. She just told me to mind my own business and that just made me angrier.
Mr Adam spent 24 hours in hospital being treated for severe laceration, a severely cut lip and given stitches for a head wound after being knocked to the floor at the station (left and right)
‘This man had nothing to do with it. He decided to interfere in something that was none of his business.
‘I could see this large lump in grey from corner of my eye. He then suddenly appeared right in front of me and then whack, my head just shook inside, I could hear this ringing noise and then everything went black. I thought he was going to kill me.’
He said: ‘I had a mask on and so did most of the other passengers, so I wanted to know why the same rules did not apply to station workers?’
He added: ‘I did get a worked up and accused the staff of spreading coronavirus. I think this man mistakenly thought that I was talking about him. The next thing I know is that he walks in my direction and then everything went black.’
Mr Adam, who is a travel agent, from London, revealed that since the attack he has been suffering from headaches, double vision and has been suffering from nightmares.
Speaking outside the station where the attack took place, he said: ‘I’ve got to go back for more tests and am very worried that there could be long term implications to my injuries. It was an incredibly hard punch, my head wobbled, and I hit the floor really hard.’
Mr Adam launched a scathing attack on South Western Railway who informed him that they would not share any details of their investigation into the conduct of their staff.
He said: ‘I have been brutally assaulted, and the behaviour of their staff was a disgrace. I admit that I did lose my temper a bit, but station staff just thought the whole thing was a big joke.
The 43-year-old (pictured having returned to the station) has since launched a scathing attack on South Western Railway who informed him that they would not share any details of their investigation into the conduct of their staff
Mr Adam, who is currently off work because of injuries sustained in the attack, said that his main reason for speaking out is because he wants his attacker (pictured) to be caught
‘They gathered around me, abused me and as far as I’m concerned, some of them are as bad as the man who attacked me.’
He fumed: ‘I have a right to know what action is being taken by South Western Railway against their staff for not wearing face masks and the way they handled this matter.
‘Why didn’t they take any action to stop the attacker? They just let him get on the train and made no effort to prevent him from attacking me.’
Mr Adam revealed that the incident took place on Sunday night as he was returning from an Italian restaurant in South London with his friend Peter Caldecott-Gabriel, who filmed the attack.
Visibly shaking as he recalled the events of the night, Mr Adam revealed that he is now going to have a coronavirus test because of the proximity of some of the station staff to him during the altercation.
South Western Railway said the member of staff who was not wearing a mask had a medical exemption. Pictured: Mr Adam returning to speak to staff at Clapham Station
He cried: ‘They were right in my face, arguing with me. I’m dealing with physical injuries and now I’m really worried that I might have caught coronavirus. I wanted to make a very important point about how we all need to wear face masks and look what it’s ended up costing me.’
As he was speaking outside the station, Mr Adam was approached by security staff who asked him to move on.
He told them: ‘You people are a disgrace and as far as I’m concerned, if you’re not wearing a mask, you’re spreading a plague.’
South Western Railway said the member of staff who was not wearing a mask had a medical exemption.
It said the assault was an altercation between members of the public and staff had assisted with first aid and alerted the police.
A spokesperson for South Western Railway, said: ‘Our staff reported this incident to the British Transport Police who are now investigating this.
‘We will cooperate in this investigation fully, but as it is ongoing it would be inappropriate for us to comment further.’
Mr Adam, who is currently off work because of injuries sustained in the attack, said that his main reason for speaking out is because he wants his attacker caught.
He said: ‘This man is very dangerous, and my big fear is that he may do something like this again. He needs to be found quickly. Surely somebody out there knows who he is?
‘You can see in the video that he’s very well built and that was a precision punch from somebody who knows what he’s doing. I want him arrested as soon as possible because I don’t want anybody else to suffer like I am.’