A 42-year-old man has been jailed after he tried to pull a young woman into the path of an oncoming tube train at King’s Cross Underground station.

Arthur Hawrylewicz, of Avondale Gardens, Cardiff, pleaded guilty to attempted murder at Inner London Crown Court on 6 March.

Today he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment.

On Monday 29 August the victim, a 22-year-old woman, was waiting on the Hammersmith and City line platform with her friends as they travelled to Notting Hill Carnival around 1.30pm.

The platform was busy with Carnival goers and both the victim and Hawrylewicz were stood towards the edge waiting for the next train.

While they were waiting he attempted to speak to her but noticing that he appeared drunk, the victim asked him to leave her alone.

As the train approached the platform Hawrylewicz grabbed the victim from behind with both arms and lifted her off the ground. He attempted to turn and throw her, along with himself, in front of the train.

As he propelled himself around and into the path of the train, two of the victim’s friends bravely managed to intervene and pulled the victim to safety.

Hawrylewicz then moved his head in front of the train and received a glancing blow which knocked him unconscious.

Officers quickly arrived on scene and arrested Hawrylewicz as he was taken to hospital for treatment. His injuries weren’t serious and he was able to be interviewed by officers the next day.

In his interview, he claimed he’d drank three beers and a third of a bottle of vodka and travelled to King’s Cross with the intention of harming himself – but he didn’t recall any interaction with the victim.

Detective Sergeant Mike Blakeburn said: “This was a completely unprovoked and incredibly disturbing attack which will have been beyond terrifying for the victim – a young woman who was on her way to enjoy a day at Notting Hill Carnival with her friends. Had it not been for their brave actions pulling her from Hawrylewicz’s clutches, we could easily have been dealing with a murder investigation.

“Hawrylewicz claimed throughout interview that he had no recollection of the incident, but the victim will have to live with this traumatic memory for the rest of her life. Thankfully he has now been handed a significant custodial sentence which will provide him with plenty of time to consider the implications of his senseless and violent behaviour.

“As shocking as this incident it is important remember that events like this are incredibly rare on the railway network, and in this case BTP officers were on scene within minutes and able to quickly arrest Hawrylewicz and bring him into police custody where he’s remained throughout the investigation.”