Surfgirl Rockchick Guilty Of £13,000 Disability Benefits Scam

Surfing Up A Claim: Hamlyn-Wright

A globe-trotting musician and competitive surfer has been convicted today of a £13,000 disability benefits scam after lying she was so disabled she couldn’t dress or wash herself.

Glastonbury performer October Hamlyn-Wright, 36, toured Australia and Scandinavia and made a music video featuring her surfing skills, which was played to the jury during her trial.

The self-styled ‘Rockchick’ and ’Surfgirl’, of Phoenix Court, Dukes Avenue, New Malden finished fifth in the 2016 British National Surf Championships and claimed the same position in the following year’s English National Surfing Championships. 

Surrey-born Hamlyn-Wright was convicted by a Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court jury of making a dishonest false representation about her mobility and care needs to the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) in claims for Disability Living Allowance on October 3, 2015 and will be sentenced on March 10.

Judge Georgina Kent told the first-time offender today: “What is important is that you attend court and co-operate with the probation service. They are the best people to help the court in dealing with your case.

“You do not have to concern yourself with an immediate custodial sentence.”

Court Date: Hamlyn-Wright

She split her time between New Malden and the UK capital of surfing Newquay, Cornwall, sometimes sleeping in her car, but now has a more permanent address in the area in Lewarne Road, Porth.

Prosecutor Mr. Andrew Price told the court Hamlyn-Wright, who performs simply as ‘October’ had posted pictures and videos of herself on Facebook, YouTube and her own personal website.

“She surfed across the world and Australia and performed at Glastonbury and the Isle of Wight festival and many other venues.

“In the biography on her ‘October Rocks’ website she says she is a professional singer, songwriter, surfer and shark enthusiast and a surfing competitor with ‘Boardmasters’.

“She says she splits her time between London and the south-west and had performed on nine stages at two festivals and at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, the ExCel, in Gothenburg, Birmingham Symphony Hall and Melbourne.”

Hamlyn-Wright has lived on benefits all her adult life and the court heard she was awarded the higher rate of the care component because she said she required 120 minutes a day for a carer to assist her getting in and out of bed and 60 minutes every day for washing.

“The benefit was awarded on the basis she was virtually unable to walk and needed full-time care,” added Mr. Price.

“There are videos and photos from 2013 onwards and she was also put under surveillance for a month and is walking, shopping, climbing stairs, performing and engaging with her audience between songs unaided and without obvious pain.”

Hamlyn-Wright wrote a lengthy letter, listing her multiple ailments when claiming benefits.

Board Life: Hamlyn-Wright

She said she had autoimmune disease lupus, which caused swelling in her lungs that made “breathing and existence agonising,” and suffered stomach pains and leg rash.

Hamlyn-Wright complained of nightly vomiting, pain in her jaw and groin and bleeding lumps on her head. “It’s a complete nightmare and prevents living a normal life.”

Her surfboarding dog Tia, who featured in the video wearing a doggie lifejacket, was trained to assist her by picking up the post and fetching her phone and handbag.

Lupus causes her inflammation to her kidneys and blood vessels and she suffers “unbearable shooting pain” in her nerves, she wrote.

Painful fibromyalgia was another illness and she suffered burns when suddenly dropping hot drinks, adding: “Sharp pains would leave me gasping for air.”

Insomnia was another issue, staying awake three days in a row before plunging into long sleeps of up to 21 hours.

She was wheelchair-bound for periods of her life, claimed Hamlyn-Wright, adding she’s had steroid injections into her joints and the base of her spine.

Chronic arthritis was another problem all her adult life as well as Crohn’s disease, an inflammation of the bowel.  

Chest inflammation is common, she wrote. “The pain is so bad my chest cannot move as it should. Lying down is excruciatingly painful and when that happens someone has to help me lie down and get up.”

Falls had resulted in fractured ankles an she has suspected gout and joints can seize up at any time. “Dressing and getting in and out of the bath is impossible on my own.”

A helpful neighbour puts her bin out, does her shopping and takes her bills to the Post Office to be paid, said Hamlyn-Wright, claiming her “legs burn” simply climbing stairs.

The investigation found her website detailing a hectic lifestyle at the same time she was suffering these ailments and the jury were played another video of her recording a song while playing her surfboard like a drum.

She gushed on ‘OctoberRocks.com’ : “I have to keep slapping myself. It’s real I’m playing Glastonbury for the sixth time this year.”

She also competed in the Red Bull surfing series and was featured in Surfgirl magazine. 

One of her tracks was played on Radio One and she performed with the BBC Big Band.

She updated her followers by breathlessly announcing: “I’m so excited. I’ll be playing and competing on the world surf tour. Complete madness.”

She plugged her album ‘Some of the Things’, telling followers: “I can’t keep up,” due to all the interview and promotional work she was doing.

She toured Australia in 2017 and posted a pic of her surfing near a legendary coastline, writing on Facebook: “So stoked to have surfed the legendary Bells Beach.”

She also wrote: “Had a lush four-hour surf at an Australian nature reserve today.”

There were other surfing and diving images of her all over social media, plus mentions of live performances in Newquay, Chepstow, Bristol, Penzance and Camden.

She was  featured artist on the ‘BBC Introducing…..’ live stage at the Royal Cornwall Show and she posted a pic of her giving Prince William a copy of her CD.

HMP Wandsworth Screw Denies Keys Mould Charge

A HMP Wandsworth prison officer, accused of making moulds of keys at the jail, denied a charge of misconduct in public office today.

Lithuanian-born Andrej Martynov, 40, appeared on bail at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court, where he will return for a five-day trial on September 28.

He pleaded not guilty to one count of while a holder of a public office, namely ‘lock and key controller’ he made moulds of prison keys and removed them from HMP Wandsworth on or before September 12, last year.

Martynov, of Routh Street, Beckton, east London told Judge Judith Coello from the dock: “I am guilty of making moulds, but I didn’t want to sell them.”

His lawyer Mr. Thomas Beynon told the court: “It seems he may have just been foolish, but the Crown’s case is that he may have been doing this for financial reward.

“He is a man of good character and was a prison officer. He did accept in his police interview that he did make the moulds.”

“It is particularly serious,” said Judge Coello, adding after hearing Martynov needed a Russian court interpreter: “He was a prison officer at HMP Wandsworth and he needs an interpreter.

“How was he able to do his job?”

Ghanaian Tourist Nicked Identity In £72K Benefit Scam

A Ghanaian visitor, who overstayed and stole another woman’s identity to claim £72,263 in benefits, has won permission to live in the UK after giving birth to a daughter here, a court heard.

Elizabeth Guyamfuah, 56, claims she paid £7,000 to a bent solicitor with a Home Office contact to obtain the paperwork, which ruined the other woman’s life.

She arrived in the UK on a one-year visa in 2004 on condition she did not seek employment or claim benefits, but over four years later she was still here and applied for income support with the bogus identity.

At Inner London Crown Court Guyamfuah, of London Road, Croydon pleaded guilty to possessing false identity documents, namely a passport and certificate of naturalisation on October 22, 2008.

She also pleaded guilty to dishonestly making a false statement to obtain Universal Credit; Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit during a claim from 2009 to 2018.

Guyamfuah received twenty months imprisonment, suspended for two years and was ordered to complete 150 hours community service work.

The court heard Guyamfuah assumed the identity of Ghana-born Hilda Quainoo, of Reading, Berkshire, who did have permission to live in the UK.

She and her children were evicted from their home when unable to claim their legitimate benefits, she was unable to renew her passport and her GP surgery refused to see her, assuming she had moved to Croydon.

Once the victim reported her identity had been hijacked Guyamfuah was quizzed by the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) and still tried to pass herself off as Hilda Quainoo.

“Her story unravelled and she gave her full name and said she bought the identity from a lawyer, now deceased,” said prosecutor Matilda Robinson-Murphy.

Guyamfuah gave birth to her daughter Christina, who is a UK citizen, in 2008 and still claims she does not know who the father is.

Using the documents supplied by lawyer ‘Francis’ and civil servant ‘James’ she successfully got her hands on a Ghanaian passport with a ‘permanent leave to remain in the UK’ stamp.

“The claim began because of her personal circumstances,” said Robin Harrison, defending. “She was a young woman with no money and with a young daughter.”

Guyamfuah now has leave to remain in the UK until October 8, 2021 and is currently receiving £500 a month Universal Credit, plus NHS care for high blood pressure and osteoarthritis.

“That money was effectively stolen from others who needed it and that in my judgement is serious criminality,” announced Recorder SJ Phillips QC.

“These offences were sophisticated and involved planning. 

“The lady whose identity you stole has suffered very significantly as a result of your actions,” the Recorder told Guyamfuah.

“She to has children and because of difficulties she faced claiming benefits she and those children were evicted from their home and that cancels out any personal mitigation on your behalf.

“I have read you are an outgoing person and a valuable member of your community and your church and you have a daughter for whom you are the sole carer.

“Were I to send you into custody today there is the possibility your daughter would have to go into care.

“You are a church member and must have been in no doubt about the immorality of your behaviour, disgraceful conduct on your part, taking money others deserved.”

The DWP intend to pursue compensation under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Belsize Park Assault: Woman Sentenced

A woman has been fined for an assault at a Hampstead address.

Apple Jin, 48, appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court, where she admitted the offence.

Jin, of Regent's Park Road, Regent's Park was fined £76, with £85 costs and ordered to pay a £32 victim surcharge.

She pleaded guilty to assaulting Eric Schachter by beating at the address (pictured) in Steele's Road, Belsize Park on August 12, last year.

City Law Firm IT Boss Sentenced For £175K Fraud

The IT boss of an international City law firm abused company cash to buy £175,000 worth of high-end mobile phones, which he sold to fund his online gambling habit, a court heard yesterday.

Father-of-two Justin Lowdon, 44, who was employed by US-based Proskauer Rose at their Bishopsgate office received two years imprisonment, suspended for two years.

At Inner London Crown Court Lowdon, of

Newfield Gardens, Marlow, Buckinghamshire pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position between January 1, 2013 and September, 2015.

Recorder SJ Phillips QC told him: “The amount was significant. You were employed as the IT manager and you ordered mobile phones, which were not required and sold them on for your own benefit.

“The reason you did this is because you were under a lot of stress in your job, you had an online gambling addiction and significant personal debt.

“There is no excuse for what you did and this criminal behaviour you know is wrong and you should not have done it.

“This is a serious crime that must be reflected in the sentence I hand down, but the fact that it has taken three years to come to court must be taken into account.

“You have not used money to fund a lavish lifestyle and if I sentence you to imprisonment today it would have a significant impact on your wife and children.”

The court heard an internal audit uncovered the fraud in 2017.

Also ordering first-time offender Lowdon to pay £1,500 costs Recorder Phillips QC added: “This was serious and extremely foolish.

“I would have been well within my rights to send you into custody for more than two years.”

City Manager Jailed For Swindling Over Half A Million Pounds From Employer

A Legal & General department boss was jailed for three years and four months yesterday for a half a million pound swindle on the company to fund his “luxury lifestyle.”

Father-of-six Anthony Murrell, 44, authorised payments to himself for IT cabling never supplied, spending the money on a dream home, jewellery, holidays and 4x4 vehicles.

The Hornchurch, Essex native was exposed just weeks after his redundancy from an £80,000 a year Infrastructure Manager position at the company’s City office in Coleman Street.

He sold his home conversion for £1.2m to repay L&G and moved to rented accommodation in The Paddock, Gleneagles, Perth and Kinross.

Judge Usha Karu, the Recorder of Southwark told him at Inner London Crown Court: “You had a poor start in life and it could be said you are a self-made man. 

“You are deeply ashamed and remorseful for what you have done. You are a family man with six children and that is said to be now gone, your wife has started divorce proceedings and the property you dreamed of has now gone.

“The offence was entirely motivated by personal gain and there is evidence of extensive planning, a deliberate and calculated fraud that you thought wouldn’t have been discovered.

“The proceeds are used to fund what some may see as a luxurious lifestyle.”

He pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation between October 21, 2014 and June 13, 2017, intending to cause a loss of £582,120.

The court heard Murrell was responsible for the maintenance of the IT department with a spending budget of up to £10,000 per order and over a two-and-half year span paid 53 bills to himself.

He invented a fictitious Brentwood-based cabling supply company called LillyPutts and using his wife’s name placed orders of around £9,900 - near his maximum budget - on all but four transactions.

Murrell used the Companies House number of a nursery school with a similar name and the VAT number of a stables.

He tried to cash in a few days before his redundancy on June 18, 2017 with a huge £50,000-plus order.

When quizzed by fraud police on January 25, last year Murrell admitted the offence, claiming he had to pay-off an aggressive builder he contracted to convert two adjoining cottages into one large family home.

“He was stealing money to get out of a financial hole,” said Alison Levitt QC, defending, explaining a £17,000 spend at a jewellers was to replace his wife’s engagement ring they were forced to sell.

The 4x4 cars were necessary to access their building site home and the holidays were merely ferry trips to the Continent, explained the QC.

Lying Murrell even forged a letter purportedly from his current employer to the judge, but withdrew it at the last moment. “Mr. Murrell wrote it himself because he is frightened of going to prison.”

Once L&G and the mortgage was repaid the family were left with £35,000 for their children’ trust fund and £10,000 cash for Murrell’s wife Vikki.

“The dream home that took thirteen years to realise is gone, his job is gone, his good character an reputation is gone and it looks like his marriage is gone, his wife is taking steps to divorce him.”

Afterwards Detective Constable Daniel Ward, of City of Police Fraud Squad said: “Murrell betrayed the trust of his employer and exploited his position to steal more than half a million pounds.

“While he claimed he needed it for house renovations, it’s clear that he also used it to enjoy a luxury lifestyle, with items such as cars and jewellery.”

Suspended Sentence For Cynical Uber Driver Who Defrauded Blind Passenger

In Nick Of Time: Mihai Arrested Again

An Uber driver, who exploited a celebrated blind singer by using her phone to secretly give himself a £20 tip and 5-star rating, has received a suspended prison sentence.

Cornel Mihai, 32, tricked 39 year-old Victoria Oruwari into handing over her iPhone at the end of the £51 journey and awarded himself the bonus without her knowledge.

However, he did not walk free from Croydon Magistrates Court as detectives immediately arrested him after the hearing and he was taken into custody on other allegations.

“This is an offence of high culpability and harm. There are substantial aggravating factors,” said District Judge Susan Green.

“There is no doubt in my mind that your defence was properly rejected during your trial,” she told the married father-of-two. “You took advantage of a blind, vulnerable person who trusted you.

“If those people with disabilities and disadvantages cannot rely on the assistance of those around them then our society is in a sorry state.” 

Romanian-born Mihai, of Pettits Place, Dagenham fought the case, but was convicted of fraud by false representation.

Vulnerable: Victoria Oruwari

He was sentenced to five months imprisonment, suspended for twelve months, ordered to complete 240 hours community service and disqualified from driving for six months.

Mihai was also ordered to pay Ms Oruwari £200 compensation, plus the £20 tip, £775 court cost and a £122 victim surcharge.

Ms Oruwari was alone and desperate to get home from London Bridge Station at 10.00pm on June 29 last year and was forced to book the BMW Uber cab because there were no trains to East Croydon.

“It has reiterated the fact I am vulnerable and more susceptible to crime and being taken advantage of, but to lead a full life I have to trust people,” the soprano singer told the trial.

“That trust has been shaken, but I am determined to continue trusting in people,” added Ms Oruwari, who has performed at the Royal Opera House, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Guildhall London and international venues.

She was a finalist on BBC’s ‘All Together Now’ and has performed with the Birmingham City Orchestra, Perth City Orchestra and the Royal Navy Brass Band.

She told the court Mihai enquired about her sight loss during the journey, but he insisted this was not true. “I felt irritated because it was none of his business , but as I was in his car I thought it best to be polite.

“He said I was getting on with life well and was happy and I said: ‘Yes. There’s nothing to be sad about.’

“He told me he could not end the trip on his App and asked if could hand him my phone to end it. I thought it was a little odd, but there was nothing in his behaviour to make me think I wasn’t safe.

Uber Villain: Mihai

“I did not think anything fishy was going on, but I was handing him a lot of trust because of the information on the phone,” she told the court.

She turned off her phone’s screenreader function, which allows her to use it before handing it over to Mihai and only discovered the tip once she was home.

“I was shocked that I had been charged twice the fare, although I knew there would be a price surge, but also that the driver had been rated five-star and tipped twenty pounds.

“The only time I did not have the phone was when I gave it to him and had to switch off the screenreader so couldn’t hear what was happening.”

Uber immediately refunded Ms Oruwari the fare and reported Mihai to the police and removed him from their approved drivers’ database.

Mihai denied using Ms Oruwari’s iPhone. “I finished this journey on my phone,” he told the trial. “I want to work honestly.”

The court heard Mihai has lost his Private Hire Driver Licence and has not worked since the criminal proceedings began.

“You have shown no remorse at all for this offence,” the judge told Mihai. “I take into account your family, your children, a daughter aged six and a son, aged five, with health issues and your future employment prospects, which are especially dim and rightly so.

“You are saved from going to prison by your previous good character and the effect imprisonment would have on your wife and family.”

OAP Gardener Hit With Five-Year 'Crimbo' For 'War Of Roses' With Neighbour

Oram Outside Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court

An award-winning gardener has been banned from contacting his downstairs neighbour for the next five years after he smashed her iPad when she filmed him in their shared grounds.

Pensioner Michael Oram, 74, was already subject to a Criminal Behaviour Order - aka ‘Crimbo’ - which curtailed his gardening at the housing association property when the confrontation occurred.

He snatched 56 year-old NHS administrator Jasmine McMurdo’s iPad and stamped on it during yet another ugly disturbance at the property in The Barons, St. Margaret’s, Twickenham.

Oram, a former Chelsea employment agency boss, pleaded guilty to assaulting Jasmine and causing criminal damage to the iPad on March 30, last year.

Three weeks later he was arrested again for breaching the Crimbo on April 19 for removing Jasmine’s garden shears as he attempted to save a flowering bush in the back garden.

Oram also found himself charged with breaching the order on May 15 for tipping over a black bin, plus two more Crimbo breaches relating to gardening on June 29 and July 6, last year.

Neighbour: Jasmine McMurdo

At Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court last Friday Oram was sentenced to eight months imprisonment, suspended for eighteen months.

He was also ordered to pay £350 compensation for smashing the iPad; £160 in court fines and fees and must attend 15 rehabilitation session.

Oram says Jasmine was recording him on her iPad, which provoked his reaction and feels he has been the victim of intimidation and anti-social behaviour at the property.

He has been arrested on multiple occasions and this Crown Court hearing wraps up all outstanding cases against him. 

Oram insists the garden shears incident occurred as he tried to prevent “environmental vandalism” to the bush, which partly blocks the path to Jasmine’s back door.

“You cannot cut a flowering bush, you have to wait until the flowers bloom for a few weeks,” said Oram in his garden, looking horrified at the results of his neighbour’s trimming.

Oram: Back Garden Battle

The twice-married former Kew Gardens gatekeeper saw his devoted gardening win Richmond-upon-Thames’s ‘Borough in Bloom’ silver prize and during a previous garden ban he continued tending to his plants by leaning over the wall from the street.

Under the latest Crimbo his gardening is restricted to specific weekday hours of 10am-3pm and he cannot interfere with anything his neighbours do on the property.

He now has multiple convictions for breaching the Crimbo and has previously been found guilty of harassment three times after leading a law-abiding life for the seven decades.

McMurdo herself has also previously been issued with a police harassment warning. 

Grandfather Oram says he is being harassed and when he recently used his garden shed he found a wooden board with the message: “F*** off! Oram. Smile. You are on CCTV! Leave this alone!” 

Landlords Richmond Housing have installed CCTV cameras all over the property as a result of the dispute.

"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.”