RAF Flight Sergeant Escapes Jail Over Escalator Prank

An RAF Flight Sergeant has escaped a jail sentence over a prank which saw a woman's back being broken.

51-year-old Frans Bekker lost control and fell down an escalator at London's Holborn station after being goaded by fellow RAF table tennis squad members to slide down the handrail.

He crashed into several people including Linda Soulsby who was left with a fractured vertebra. 

Mr Bekker, who has issued a "wholehearted apology" over the incident, has been ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid community work and pay £4,000 in compensation to his victim.

Ms Soulsby, who is in her 60s, was forced to wear a brace for months, retire three years early and is still having to take painkillers.

Imposing a 12-month community order the Chairman of the Bench told Mr Bekker "What we have heard is a quite horrendous set of circumstances for this lady whose injury was caused by your actions."

"Whether there was a moment of madness or anything more than that, this lady has had her life turned upside down."

Frans Bekker, who has served in the RAF for more than 30 years, pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to endangering the safety of a person conveyed by railway.