A teenager has been arrested for allegedly spitting at a bus driver in Bexleyheath after forensics used his spit to track him down.

The Met's chief inspector Dave Monk called it a "vile crime at any time," but "even more abhorrent given the concerns around the risk of contracting coronavirus.

As of Monday, April 25, 34 TfL workers have lost their lives to the Covid-19 pandemic, the majority of whom have been bus drivers.

The 18-year-old tried to board a bus on Broadway in Bexley at around 1am on Wednesday, March 25, but tried to use an usable bank card.

When the driver explained to him that he could not travel on the bus without paying a fare, the suspect spat at him.

TfL are provided with testing kits for incidents like these, so the victim collected 'evidence' following the attack and passed it on to the Met's Roads and Transport Policing Command.

Since the incident took place, TfL has moved to install a screen to protect bus drivers from passengers, and then gone further and banned passengers from entering at the front of the bus, all in order to stop the spread of coronavirus.

CCTV footage from the bus provided an image of the suspect, who has then identified by local police officers.

The identification was corroborated by the DNA result from the testing kit used by the victim.

The teenager was arrested earlier today, April 29, on suspicion of common assault.

He was taken to a south London police station where he remains at this time, the Met said.

Enquiries continue.