Tube push victim Sir Robert Malpas 'went flying' onto tracks

Sir Robert, the former Eurotunnel chief, told jurors he felt a 'two-handed push' as he fell onto the tracks

A former Eurotunnel boss has told how he felt himself "flying" on to Tube tracks after he was pushed.

Footage shown at the Old Bailey showed the moment Paul Crossley, 46, shoved Sir Robert Malpas on to the rails at Marble Arch station on 27 April.

The 91-year-old was rescued by a passer-by, but left with a fractured pelvis and a head wound.

Mr Crossley, from Leyton, east London, denies two counts of attempted murder and attempting to cause GBH.

He is also accused of trying to push another Tube passenger, Tobias French, onto the tracks at Tottenham Court Road station earlier that day.

Sir Robert Malpas, 91, suffered a fractured pelvis when he was pushed on to the tracks of Mable Arch tube station

Sir Robert, who was knighted by the Queen in 1998, had been attending a pensioners' lunch, the court heard.

In a statement he said: "As I was walking along the platform I felt a two-handed push to my back.

"I felt myself flying over the tracks and landing on the rails.

"I may have been concussed but only for a very short time."

Jurors heard Sir Robert became aware of a man lifting him from the track and up to the platform.

'Aggressively pushed'

His rescuer was teacher Riyad El Hussani, who was left with a burn on his right hand from touching the rails.

Mr French told jurors how he had been "aggressively pushed" while waiting for a train.

He was able to stay on the platform, while Mr Crossley was pulled to the ground by another passenger, the court heard.

"At the time of the incident I didn't think I was going to die," said Mr French in a statement.

"It all happened so quickly, I didn't have time to think like that. I was just concerned with defending myself and keeping myself from being pushed into the tracks."

Mr Crossley has pleaded guilty to a wounding charge in relation to Sir Robert.

The trial continues.