Luton man jailed for 'savage attack' which left underground station worker with bleed on the brain

A Luton man has been jailed for his unprovoked attack on an underground station worker that left him with a bleed on the brain.

Viorel Schiopu, 23, of Lansdowne Road in Luton, left his 61-year-old victim unconscious and needing 12 days of hospital treatment after the attack at Harrow on the Hill underground staion.

Shortly after midnight on May 21, Schiopu approached his victim, speaking to him briefly before pushing through the barrier. Schiopu threw the contents of a packet he was eating from at the worker and walked away.

But moments later Schiopu returned to the ticket hall. CCTV shows him having a conversation with his back turned to the victim before turning around and throwing a punch to the man’s head.

His victim fell backwards to the ground, unconscious. Another staff member heard a loud bang and ran over to find him, while Schiopu calmly left the station around a minute later.

The victim was diagnosed with a bleed on the brain, a fractured skull and multiple facial fractures and spent 12 days in hospital. He is still slowly recovering from the injuries.

In his victim impact statement, he said: “To say the effects of the assault have been profound would be an understatement. It has changed everything, and my life is very different to what it used to be before….it feels like my freedom has been robbed from me.”

Schiopu handed himself into police the following day, after a CCTV appeal was shared widely on social media.

He pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm (GBH), actual bodily harm (ABH) and affray at Inner London Crown Court on June 22. And on Wednesday (December 13), he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, alongside an indefinite restraining order to not approach the victim or enter certain stations.

Detective Constable Tony Gittins said: “This was a truly appalling and unprovoked attack on a member of staff simply trying to do their job, and they are very sadly continuing to suffer the severe physical and mental effects of what happened to this day.

“Every member of staff should be able to go to work without fear of violence and we will always take a zero tolerance approach to such offending. This is clear from our swift and thorough investigation which has resulted in Schiopu being jailed just over two months after the incident – where he will now have time to reflect on the consequences of his actions.

He added: “While it could never make up for what happened, I hope the victim is able to take some comfort from the fact justice has been served today and begin to start rebuilding his life as he knew it.”

Mandy McGregor, head of policing and community safety at TfL, said: “Our staff have the right to do their job without fear or intimidation and we do not tolerate any violence, aggression or threatening behaviour towards them. This was an appalling act of violence against a member of staff who was just trying to do their job and we're pleased that the offender has been brought to justice.”