Police are appealing for information after a pregnant woman was attacked on a bus in Barking on Monday.

Officers were called to Ripple Road at about 4pm, where a 30-year-old woman had been pushed off a route 173 bus by a man claiming there was no room for her and the pushchair carrying her nine-month-old baby.

At the bus stop, the man allegedly punched her repeatedly in the face, chest and shoulders.

When the mother tried calling 999 he took her phone and threw it to the floor, smashing it.

As police arrived the 28-year-old man went on to assault a police officer.

He was arrested on suspicion of actual bodily harm (ABH), assault on police and resisting arrest and taken to an east London police station, where he was bailed to a date in early June.

The woman was taken to an east London hospital for treatment to bruising to her face and upper body.

Checks were also carried out to ensure her unborn child had not been harmed during the attack.

The baby in the pushchair and the woman’s five-year-old daughter did not sustain any injuries and the trio were discharged from hospital later that day.

Det serg Beverley Williams said: “This was a despicable attack on a defenceless pregnant woman who had simply boarded a bus with her nine-month-old child and her five-year-old daughter.

“Her older child has been left traumatised after seeing her mother being assaulted.

“I am appealing to anyone who was at the bus stop or on the bus who has yet to come forward to please get in contact and assist us with our investigation.

“The information you provide may prove valuable.”

Anyone who saw the attack should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.