"Disgusting": Mum And Daughter Sentenced For Tube Train Attacks

Guilty: Elsden & Regin

Mother and daughter beauty therapists guilty of an “explosion of violence” during a packed tube train seat row with a mum and her two girls, have been sentenced.

Renata Regin, 50 and Sophia Elsden, 25, had just finished work in Sloane Square and turned on the 35 year-old mum, whose head was bashed against a metal hand rail.

The mum’s 5 year-old daughter nabbed the seat Regin was about to take and the defendant was further enraged by the 9 year-old sister kicking out her legs while sitting on her mother’s lap.

“Why the two of you decided to behave in this appalling manner on public transport, I don’t think anyone will ever understand,” District Judge Samuel Goozee told the pair at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

“People should be able to use public transport in the city without being assaulted.

“The two of you decided to jointly attack her while travelling on the Underground over an apparent dispute regarding a seat.

“Neither of you have accepted the court’s verdict and you have expressed no remorse for your actions, which were disgusting.

“Only your good character is saving you both from a custodial sentence for this assault on public transport in a confined space, involving a nine year-old girl.”

Both Regin, of Searles Drive, Docklands, east London and Elsden, of Castle Chambers, Union Street, Torquay were convicted of assaulting the mother.

Regin alone was found guilty of assaulting the 9 year-old.

Regin was sentenced to 250 hours community service and ordered to pay £50 compensation to the mother she struck and £100 to her daughter, whose hair she pulled.

Skin expert Elsden must complete 200 hours community service and pay £100 compensation to the mother and both defendants were each ordered to pay £250 costs.

In her victim impact statement the mother said: “Since the incident both children have been unable to travel to London on public transport because of anxiety.

“My older daughter, when talking about a potential career, said: ‘I’d have to travel into London alone when I grow up. Can you and daddy take me?’

“As a parent that is very difficult to hear and now both girls are scared to sleep alone and scream at night.

“I often watch them sleeping while crying to myself and have noticed changes in them, like their innocence has been taken away from them.

“I have only travelled on the train once since and that was with my husband and soon after the incident my hair started falling out as a result of what happened.

“My children don’t believe me when I say everything will be okay and my dad, who is getting older, shouldn’t have had to step in to stop this.

“I can’t wait to put this behind us and be able to travel on a train and feel safe again.”

During the trial she told the court: “I had asked the older one (Regin) to move her bag, which was in front of me, so my daughter could sit on my lap, but then she started saying: ‘Look at her legs, look at her legs.’ They were making loud comments about us.”

When the mother, who was also travelling with her parents and had just enjoyed a family day at Portobello Road Market, asked: “Is there a problem?” violence erupted.

Shocked passengers on the Jubilee Line train travelling towards London Bridge on October 13, 2018 witnessed the girls’ 65 year-old grandad twice hit Regin, when she pulled the screaming 9 year-old’s hair.

“The younger one (Elsden) grabbed my hair, wrapped it around her hand and pulled my head back and forth, bashing it against the pole,” said the mother from behind a screen during the trial.

“I had a sore head at that point, but could only focus on my children. People on the tube were screaming at the ladies to stop.”

The grandfather told the court: “The older woman (Regin) moved towards the free seat, but my youngest grand-daughter shot into it.

“The nine year-old was on my daughter’s lap and I could hear them saying: ‘Disgusting child’ and: ‘Look at her feet, disgusting.’

“The older one said: ‘Yes, I’ve got a problem with your child. She’s disgusting,’ and the younger one said: ‘Yes, she is disgusting.’

“The younger one got into my grand-daughter’s face and said: ‘You’d better watch your mouth child,’ and then grabbed my daughter’s hair and smashed her head into the railing.

“They were both attacking her at one point and the older one said: ‘I’m going to kill you, I’m kill to kill you.’

“My youngest grand-daughter was crying and screaming her head off and when her sister stood up the older lady grabbed the nine year-old’s hair and pulled her head back.

“The violence came from nowhere. It was like an explosion of violence,” added the grandad. “Everyone was in shock due to the extreme violence.

“They were attacking my daughter and my grandchildren and at one point I did hit the older one with my fist, with restraint, with minimal force to the side of her face to get her to stop the attack.

“The older one then swaggered over and did a high karate-style kick to try and take my head off and I hit her a little harder into the face.

“I’ve never seen people lose their tempers as quickly as that.”

Regin told the trial trouble began when she scolded the mother about the way her children were behaving. 

“A seat was available next to the woman and I was about to take it, but was kind of pushed because the girl jumped on the seat.

“The girl on the woman’s lap was moving her feet, her legs were in the air, you could feel them and I told her it was not the way to bring children up.”

She claimed the mother then became aggressive towards her daughter and as she tried to protect her was attacked by the grandad.

“All of a sudden I felt a blow to my chin and I tried to kick the man in the groin. I was shocked, hurt, humiliated and was then elbowed on the side of my throat and gasped for air.

“I didn’t pull any child’s hair, I didn’t touch the children. They are fabricating the story to protect the grandfather.”

Elsden, who says the distressing incident prompted her move to Devon, said: “I pointed the seat out to my mum and as she was about to sit down the child pushed and rushed across to sit down next to her mother.

“My mother did say the child pushed past with no regard and the parents should bring them up better and then the woman said: ‘Do you have a problem?’ and continued to taunt my mum.

“The lady then came towards me with her arms out, aggressively and the grandad hit my mum under the chin and she fell back into two guys.”

Their lawyer Kiran Gohal told the court on Friday: “Mrs Regin is deeply hurt, traumatised and ashamed and has lost her job as a result of it.

“She can’t cope with the stress of this court case. There were no injuries and all involved suffered great trauma afterwards.

“Miss Elsden moved back to Devon after this incident. She didn’t want to be in London anymore and is worried about her job, which is in jeopardy because of this court case.”