Sarah Hooper | News Reporter
Published June 15, 2026 10:43am
Updated June 15, 2026 1:47pm
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A banker and former British Army officer has been arrested nine years after a woman was thrown under a bus in Putney.
In May 2017, the ‘Putney Pusher’ pushed the woman on Putney Bridge in London, and his identity has remained unknown ever since.
The driver of the bus managed to swerve out of the way and avoid hitting the 33-year-old woman, but shocking CCTV footage sparked a years-long manhunt to find the pusher.
The ‘millionaire’ suspect reportedly has ties to several European royal families and works as a director at a private bank after serving with the British Army.
Now, the Metropolitan Police have said a 44-year-old man has been arrested and taken into custody on suspicion of attempted grievous bodily harm.
They added: ‘The arrest relates to an incident on 5 May 2017, where a woman was pushed into the path of a bus on Putney Bridge in Putney.’
After issuing a widespread plea for any leads, police were forced to close the case, despite two arrests being made and 50 suspects questioned.
The bus driver, Oliver Salbris, was labelled a hero for his quick actions in swerving to avoid the woman.
Timeline of the Putney Pusher
May 5, 2017
7.40am
A jogger wearing grey pushes a woman onto the road on Putney Bridge. A double-decker bus on the road managed to swerve at the last minute, saving her life.
7.55am
The jogger comes back, ignoring the victim as she attempts to confront him about the attack. He disappears from the scene.
August 2017
Police release CCTV footage of the incident for the first time and start making arrests, including a banker from Chelsea who was found to be on holiday in California at the time.
June 2018
After a massive manhunt, including the investigation of 50 people of interest, the Metropolitan Police closed their investigation, with no suspects ever charged.
April 2024
A play about the Putney Pusher sparks conversation around the case again. The play, called Once Upon a Bridge, was performed at the OSO Arts Centre in Barnes, south west London.
June 15, 2026
A suspect is arrested and charged with attempted grievous bodily harm.
The bus driver told the Sunday Times in 2017 he thought he was going to hit her: ‘If I hadn’t swerved, I would have smashed her head.
‘It was reflex. The consequences would have been terrible for her – and for me,’ he said.
Of the jogger, he said: ‘He needs to be caught and to explain himself. He needs to be prosecuted.’
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