Pensioner blocked on London tube station stairs as man refuses to move – ‘you’ve got legs’
A man has been filmed refusing to move for an elderly woman trying to use the handrail to climb the stairs at a London Tube station, in a video that has gone viral online
She is initially taken aback by the rude man (Image: X)
An elderly woman was prevented from using the steps to exit a London Underground station after a man filmed himself outright refusing to move out of her way.
The footage, which spread across the internet, has since gone viral. The brief clip was recorded by the man himself as he declined to make way for the 80 year old woman, claiming he was too busy “relaxing”.
In the full social media clip, the elderly woman can be seen clutching the handrail as she attempts to make her way up the stairs, only to find her path obstructed by the man. “I want to come up the stairs,” she calmly tells him.
Rather than moving aside, the man replies: “Don’t touch me,” before announcing that he is recording the encounter. As the woman politely requests once more that he step aside, he refuses.
“I’m here relaxing,” he says, before suggesting she “go round” instead.
When the woman explains that she is unable to do so, the man responds: “You can, you’ve got legs.”
The woman then reveals that she is 80 years old, yet he remains completely unmoved. He replies simply: “So?” After the man states for a third time that he is filming, the woman runs out of patience and says: “I don’t give a damn what you’re doing. You’re extremely rude and arrogant.”
The video ends when the woman turns to a man in hi-vis, who was also ascending the stairs, pleading for assistance and telling him the other man would not allow her to pass.
The confrontation, believed to have taken place at Harrow and Wealdstone station in north London on Wednesday, has ignited widespread fury online, with internet users roundly condemning the man for his stubbornness.
As he refuses to move, the woman turns to a man in hi-vis for help (Image: X)
One person wrote on Facebook: “Move and help her up the stairs, show some respect!”.
Another commented: “He should not be blocking the stairs. The rail is there for a reason and all she wants to do is get past. Whatever happened to having respect for your elders?”.
A third piped up with: “Poor woman. She needs to hold on to the handrail for stability and doesn’t want to let go. It would have taken him two seconds to move to one side and let her pass. He has zero respect for others.”
On X, formerly Twitter, another social media user said: “Looks like she needed the handrail to help her. Totally unnecessary aggravation just for social media!” Another added: “She needed that handrail. This pointless person agitated her for his pathetic content.”
Responding to the incident, Transport for London’s lead for Customer Insight, Strategy and Experience Mark Evers said: “This behaviour is extremely disappointing and completely unacceptable. “We expect customers travelling on our network to treat each other with respect at all times. Thankfully, this is not a typical reflection of the millions of customer journeys taking place every day.”
