A woman’s head was pushed into a train door during a “cowardly and vicious” assault police have said.

The 46-year-old victim, who was travelling from Hampton Court to Waterloo, was attacked by an Asian man at around 10.30pm on July 14 as the train approached Wimbledon.

The man snatched the victim’s mobile phone and threw it on the floor and assaulted her as she tried to pick it up.

Detective Constable Sarah Jones, from the British Transport Police, said: "The woman went to pick up the phone and complain about the man’s actions when she was pushed to the floor and assaulted.

"When the woman got up, she was grabbed again and assaulted. The victim suffered swelling to the head and a cut to her eyebrow after the male pushed her head into the train door."

Police have released two CCTV images of men they are trying to identify as part of the investigation.

The first man, is Asian, in his late 20s, and had short wavy hair. He was wearing a baseball cap and a black tracksuit top with white stripes on the sleeves.

The second man is white with short brown hair. He was wearing a white shirt, with a dark top and brown jacket. He had a cut on his forehead.

D Con Jones said: "This was an unprovoked, cowardly and vicious assault on a lone woman and we are appealing to anyone who may be able to assist us in our investigation to contact British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40 or the Witness Appeal Line on 0207 391 5275 quoting background log B6 of 18/08/2008."