A woman who was racially abused on a bus is calling for the Mayor of London to install better CCTV on public transport.

Juliet Chowdhry from Chigwell, said the incident happened shortly after boarding the 150 TfL bus at Fullwell Cross Swimming Pool in Barkingside at around 6:30pm on Sunday, November 3.

She then sat opposite a man estimated to be in his 70s who was seated in an elevated chair behind the bus driver.

Seconds later the man turned to Mrs Chowdhry calling her a ‘Paki’ and telling her 'go back to your own country', 'your people smell' and 'women like you should not sit anywhere near me'.

Before exiting the bus on Fencepiece Road near the junction to Tomswood Hill in Chigwell the man walked close to Mrs Chowdhry and said: “disgusting creatures”.

Speaking about the incident Mrs Chowdhry, a trustee for the British Pakistani Christian Association (BACA), said: "I did nothing to trigger his hate, moreover I chose silence over any reaction just hoping he would stop but he only became more livid.

"Neither the bus driver or any passengers made any attempt to help me, I was praying someone would extricate me from the danger he posed and just wanted the torrent of abuse to stop.”

Embarrassed by the elderly man’s comments Mrs Chowdhry replied to him as he left saying: “This is not your bus, it's public transport”.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

Juliet Chowdhry (Right) is a trustee for the British Pakistani Christian Association (BACA).

Distraught from the incident Mrs Chowdhry did not tell her husband Wilson and her children of the racial abuse until the next day.

“The police had to react quickly as they believed CCTV footage would only be retained for four days,” she explained, “they did not give a telephone number despite a request from my husband.

“We are still awaiting images and footage from Arriva and have heard nothing back from the Met police.”

She added: "When he left the bus I still felt ashamed and was desperate to get to the end of my journey.

"Being a Pakistani Christian I am used to discrimination in my homeland but now I know nowhere is safe. I don't think I could ever use a public transport bus again.”

Met Police, Essex Police, British Transport Police and Arriva have all been informed of the incident.

Officers and Arriva have both stated that although the CCTV system in the bus does not capture sound, the camera hopefully capture footage of the man.

The couple said they are sending a letter to the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan about the incident appealing to tackle hate crime and increase passenger safety.

Juliet’s husband Wilson Chowdhry said: “This type of evil opportunistic behaviour must be clamped down on especially in these strange days where Brexit seems to be increasing societal polarisation in the UK."

BACA will be writing to TFL and Arriva Buses calling for an enhancement of CCTV so that verbal abuse of this nature can be used to prosecute hate crime offenders.

If you have any information or witnessed this incident please call Met Police on 101 or report anonymously to Crimestoppers at crimestoppers-uk.org