Pensioner, 82, beaten unconscious in horror attack after trying to stop fare-dodger

Police have issued CCTV of a violent face dodger who left an 82-year-old woman unconscious after he hit her over the head when she tried to challenge him following her through a ticket barrier. Shocking video footage shows the man attacking the elderly woman when she confronted him over his ticket-dodging ploy.

The middle-aged man, wearing a blue baseball cap, a check shirt, jeans and a light brown fishing jacket, struck the pensioner's head so hard she is reported to have lost consciousness a short time after the attack. Amsterdam Police are appealing for information on the suspect and have released CCTV of the man nonchalantly heading up an escalator after the brutal incident.

Police said the attack happened at Ganzenhoef metro station, in the southeast of Amsterdam, at around 12.20 on Monday, May 26 this year, but the authorities have only now released the video.

A statement from Amsterdam Police said the elderly woman bravely tried to push back her attacker as he rudely shoved behind her at the ticket barrier.

A spokeswoman said: "The woman was then struck hard in the ear, just below the temple. After that, she was hit again in the chest."

"The suspect disappears up an escalator. The victim remains behind and is still screaming for help so that someone calls 112.

"Unfortunately, there is no one nearby to be able to help. The victim decided to take the metro to the centre anyway. At the Centraal Station, she asks an employee of the GVB for help, but then loses consciousness."

A spokesman for the police said the images have only just been released after other lines of enquiry failed to track down the dodger.

Fare-dodging is on the rise in the Netherlands. At the beginning of October, new fines were introduced across the country to try to deter offenders.