Police are appealing for witnesses after a woman was racially abused on a train.

A man pushed the woman's handbag onto the ground before swearing and racially insulting her on a train travelling between Waterloo and Wimbledon on Monday January 13.

The woman escaped to another carriage while he stayed in the sixth carriage of the eight-carriage train.

The incident took place shortly after 7pm aboard the 19.06 train from Waterloo to Hampton Court.

The suspect is described as white man in his early to mid 20s, wearing a grey tracksuit top and bottoms.

Officers are following a number of enquiries, including looking at CCTV from on board the train and at the station.

PC Neil Allison, leading the investigation, said: "There were several people on the train at the time of the incident and we believe there will be a number of people who witnessed what took place.

"If you were on board the service at the time, we urge you to come forward as you may have information crucial to our investigation."

Anyone with information is asked to contact British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40 quoting background reference LSA/B6 of 17/01/2014. Information can also be passed to the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.