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Man, 38, arrested on suspicion of assault in connection with 'body slamming' incidents along East London canal
11 May 2025, 18:37 | Updated: 12 May 2025, 06:33
A man has been arrested on suspicion of assault in connection with incidents in East London.
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The first incident took place on Sunday, 4 May where a 20-year-old woman reported she was pushed as she walked along the canal in Mile End, Bethnal Green.
The victim spoke to LBC about how she was left feeling "very violated" after being body slammed to the ground by a stranger.
The second incident took place on Wednesday, 2 April, where it is alleged that a 60-year-old man was pushed walking along Commercial Road, Bethnal Green and fell into a nearby parked car.
Officers are aware of further reported incidents and continue to assess whether they are linked.
The Metropolitan Police has now confirmed a 38-year-old man from Whitechapel, Tower Hamlets, has been arrested on suspicion of common assault and remains in police custody.
The force also confirmed local officers will continue to patrol around the canal and surrounding areas.
'Concern in local community'
Acting Detective Chief Superintendent Brittany Clarke, who leads local policing in the area, said: "We are very aware of the concern this has caused in the local community.
"While we have a man in custody, local officers will continue to patrol around the canal and surrounding areas.
“If you have any concerns please do speak to us and anyone with any information that may assist the investigation is urged to call police on 101 quoting CAD: 5220/11May25
Read more: Second man arrested in connection with death of 60-year-old on cruise ship
On Thursday, Ayla Mellek told LBC she was walking along Mile End canal at midday on Sunday when a runner slammed into her bringing her to the ground.
She said she "heard him before she saw him" and that he was running towards them grunting.
Despite having space on the path, he slammed into her with "so much force" that the "air left her lungs".
She added she "never thought in a million years" something like that would happen - especially in broad daylight along a busy towpath.
Ms Mellek confirmed the friend she was with called out to him but he didn't stop to look back or even apologise.
She said they were both "so shocked" by the "dramatic" incident and that members of the public helped her up.
The 20-year-old who works in marketing said she was left feeling "very violated" by the incident, especially as she believes the man did it deliberately.
Back in March, it was reported in a local newspaper an elderly man was pushed off his bike and into Mile End canal on the same towpath by a runner with a similar description.
He said the man lunged at him with his elbow and struck him in the chest, knocking him into the water.
“I was totally shocked and as I looked up, the guy had carried on running and hadn’t even looked back," he told the East London Advertiser.
He went on: "At this point I fell off my bike, onto the edge of the canal and then into the canal with my bike falling on top of me.“I was totally shocked and as I looked up, the guy had carried on running and hadn’t even looked back."
'Seriously dangerous'
Multiple passers-by stopped to help him up and another cyclist claimed the jogger had "almost done exactly the same thing" to him.
“My mind was clear then that the runner had done it on purpose.“I got home and sure enough my left leg was in a bad way – I had two days where I could hardly straighten it.
“Where the runner had hit me in the chest with his elbow, there was a bruise around nine inches long so he must have hit me with quite an impact.
“I’m 75, I’m not a young man but I keep fit and I think that fitness has allowed me to recover from this assault. Had I not been fit, it would have been a different story – broken legs, broken ribs.
“I think this guy is seriously dangerous".
