London jog-push case: Second innocent man arrested then immediately ruled out

By Stewart Paterson

A second suspect in the hunt for a jogger who shoved a woman in front of a bus has been arrested before being ruled out of police inquiries.

The 41-year-old man was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of grievous bodily harm following a CCTV appeal about the incident on Putney Bridge in south west London.

He was taken to a south London police station but, following further inquiries, he was released with no further action later that day, the Daily Mail reports.

It followed an announcement that a financier arrested in connection with the incident had been eliminated from inquiries.

The 33-year-old woman was lucky to escape serious injury after a bus driver swerved to avoid her on the bridge in south west London. Photo / Met Police

Eric Bellquist, also 41, was quizzed by police in connection with the incident which was captured on CCTV before being ruled out of the inquiry.

Bellquist's lawyers said the financier, who works for Mayfair firm Hutton Collins, had irrefutable proof that he was in the United States at the time of the incident.

But detectives say they are following up a number of new leads following a 'positive' response to the appeal.

Footage of the incident on Friday May 8 appears to show the jogger shove the 33-year-old woman into the oncoming path of a bus.

The driver of the Go Ahead service swerved to avoid her and has been hailed as a "hero" by colleagues.

Some passengers got off and rushed to the aid of the badly shaken woman who suffered minor injuries.

Around 15 minutes later the jogger came back the other way across the bridge.

The victim tried to speak to him, but he ignored her and carried on jogging.

Millionaire banker Eric Bellquist has received death threats and been forced to hire a bodyguard after he was wrongly detained. Photo / Facebook

The jogger is described as a white man, aged in his early to mid 30s, with brown eyes and short brown hair. He was wearing a light grey T-shirt and dark blue shorts.

A Met Police spokesman said: "Detectives investigating an incident where a man appeared to push a woman into the path of a bus continue to appeal for witnesses and information.

"A second man, aged 41, was arrested on the afternoon of Saturday August 12 on suspicion of grievous bodily harm following information received in response to a CCTV appeal about the incident on Putney Bridge.

"The man was taken to a south London police station and following further inquiries, he was released with no further action later that day.

"This followed the arrest of a 41-year-old man on Thursday August 10 who was eliminated from inquiries on Saturday."

He added: "There has been a positive public response to the appeal so far with a range of information provided to investigating officers.

"Some people have simply put forward possible names for the suspect; officers would urge those people to please contact police or Crimestoppers again with as much information."