A London Underground passenger has shared photos of a man who appears to be openly smoking crack cocaine on the Tube, sparking concerns about public safety.
The incident allegedly took place during a “busy hour” on the Victoria line, when the passenger was travelling home from work, and noticed people moving away from a man sitting opposite him.
He saw a man in a black puffer jacket, jeans, and trainers who was allegedly “as high as a kite” and “behaving oddly” while attempting to “light a small metal pipe.”
“Thinking he was just drunk, I said ‘Dude, no- you can't do that here’ before I recognised that he was attempting to light up some crack,” the passenger wrote on the social media platform Reddit.
“I deliberated for a few moments before calmly getting up and moving over to the other end of the carriage,” he added.
“During these few moments, most people either left the carriage to wait at another stop or joined me at the other end, leaving the crack addict to enjoy his half of the carriage alone.
“I was calm, but I could tell that many others were unnerved and/or repulsed by the man, especially the young women on the carriage. And when I got off at my stop, I saw him scurry off onto another platform and get onto another carriage.”
It comes as figures indicate a surge in crime on the London Underground, with a significant increase in thefts, robberies and violent incident, affecting the safety of commuters.
A total of 16,288 crimes were reported on the Tube between January and August last year – up 13 per cent on the same period the previous year.
There were 359 offences at Kings Cross St Pancras, almost five per cent of the total, followed by 281 at Oxford Circus, 272 at Tottenham Court Road, 237 at Stratford and 205 at Finsbury Park.
About 40 per cent of offences at stations were theft or pickpocketing, followed by violence – 21 per cent of cases – and public order offences.
As soon as the passenger reached his stop, he reported the incident to a Transport for London (TfL|) worker, but claims he was told there “wasn’t much they could do about him”.
He claimed the individual was so well known to staff that they received complaints about him every few days and even knew him by his first name.
The Tube passenger claimed that contacting British Transport Police or the man’s local council had not “yielded any results.”
Responding to the incident, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said it was “unacceptable” and confirmed it would be investigated by TfL.
She told LBC on Monday: “That situation that you described of somebody smoking crack cocaine on the London Underground is obviously totally unacceptable and I know it will concern the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and the TfL Commissioner Andy Lord as much as it would concern me.
The overall point to make here is that the transport network in London and across the country as a whole is a relatively low crime environment."
She added: “Clearly any increase in the number of incidents that are happening, whether it’s on the Tube, buses, on the trams in London, the British Transport police, alongside the enforcement officers that work on the Tube will want to tackle that."
A spokesperson for British Transport Police seconded the transport secretary’s views.
They said: “We are aware of a post on Reddit over the weekend referring to a man appearing to smoke crack cocaine on the Victoria Line.
While the poster states this wasn’t reported to British Transport Police, it is completely unacceptable behaviour which will not be tolerated. If you witness this behaviour, please report it by texting 61016, calling 0800 405040, or speaking to a member of staff.”
A TfL spokesperson said: “We want all customers to feel safe when travelling and we understand the alarm this kind of behaviour could cause.
“We are working with the police, specialist teams and other agencies to help move vulnerable people away from our network and into help and support.”
Many people commented on the Reddit thread, saying they recognised the man in the photos. Others shared their own experiences of people smoking illegal substances on the Underground, while one person described it as a reflection of broader issues with crime and public safety in London.
“Happened to me the other week. I was kinda daydreaming and didn’t take into account I was on a train and it wasn’t a normal smell. Then I snapped back to reality thought ‘what the f*** is that smell of burning’, looked across and saw the same thing.”
“Can testify as someone that gets the Victoria line from Brixton, I was also on a tube with a homeless guy trying to smoke a joint the other day,” said another “The worst part is that he was trying to light it on top of a stack of newspapers he had on his lap. Could have been a disaster!”
Another person added: “This country is so broken. We have a man who needs help, multiple people reporting it to multiple agencies, and nobody can/will do anything.”
