Glenn Copus was outside Metronet's central London headquarters on High Holborn on Tuesday morning where protesters from the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) were picketing and handing out leaflets in support of the three-day strike.

Copus said a man emerged from the building around 8.30am and assaulted a cameraman from an independent TV company, damaging his camera, and then barged into Copus.

"Someone came out of the building with a pile of books in his hands," said Copus. "He whacked the cameraman and his camera, I went to take a picture of it and he charged at me and rammed me into a shop. He came at me wailing like a banshee; he just went berserk.

"An RMT official pulled him off me; I was trying to protect my camera and he just went off ranting and raving. He was saying ‘why have you done this?'

"I don't think he was the full shilling."

Copus was unharmed in the scuffle and said he was not going to press charges. Police arrived soon after but were not thought to have got the man's name.

A spokesperson for Metronet said the company was investigating the incident, but does not know the man's identity.

Evening Standard photographer Glenn Copus is attacked by a mystery man

Copus tries to protect his camera from the 'wailing banshee'

An RMT official grabs the man who attacked Copus