Pregnant teenager faces jail for Finsbury Park Tube track stunt
A pregnant teenager who brought rush-hour Tube trains to a standstill when she ran along the tracks trying to dodge her fare has been warned she faces jail.
Elesha Proud-Miles, 18, narrowly avoided being hit by a Victoria Line train as she dashed across the rails at Finsbury Park Station on August 6, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard last week.
The expectant mother, who is five months’ pregnant, was fleeing police at 10am when she jumped off the platform and into a tunnel.
Prosecuter Ravinder Chodha said: “She was close to the tunnel wall, and a driver applied the emergency brakes after seeing the defendant was not standing still. Several trains had to be evacuated as the Victoria Line was brought to a standstill.”
She had earlier punched PCSO Yakubu Musah in the face during a foul-mouthed tirade when she was caught trying to jump the barriers without paying for her journey.
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PCSO Musah told the court: “I grabbed her wrist and held her back, telling her to come back.”
Proud-Miles continued to scream at the officer while he radioed for help and then punched him in the mouth.
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Once in the tunnel, she continued to ignore the assistance of train staff, including the driver who had stopped his train. She was eventually arrested and taken to hospital.
The court heard the teenager already has a string of convictions to her name, including several assaults dating back to 2008 and a common assault in 2011.
She was also forced to relocate from Islington after being sentenced to nine months in youth detention in April for assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Proud-Miles, now of Wandsworth, admitted obstructing a train, disobeying rail safety notices and assaulting PCSO Musah.
District judge Elizabeth Roscoe said Proud-Miles must be dealt with by a crown court judge and warned her to expect jail.
She was released on unconditional bail ahead of sentencing at Blackfriars Crown Court.
