[Carruthers]

The joys of late night travel on the London Underground.

Darts fan filmed sliding down Tube escalator in viral clip viewed 10m times 'I had 10 pints and thought, why not?'

Tube safety bosses warn against copycat pranksters

After downing ten pints of beer at the darts, it probably seemed like a good idea.

But as these images show, Freddie Andrews’s decision to slide down a Tube escalator backfired in spectacular style.

Dressed in a football kit, the 22-year-old from Tonbridge, Kent leapt on to the metal chute between two escalators as a prank.

But it quickly went wrong as he first smashed his private parts into one of the emergency stop buttons - while his friends laughed hysterically.

As he gathered pace, he then slid another 40ft before hitting a metal sign and was catapulted headfirst into the opposite escalator, landing at the feet of a surprised commuter.

The stunt at London Bridge station on Wednesday night was filmed by one of his friends

Asda worker Mr Andrews said he instantly regretted the stunt as he began sliding down, but was unable to stop himself.

He told the Standard: “I was that drunk - I’d had about 10 pints - the escalator was free and I thought, ‘why not?’

“It was faster than I thought it would have been. But as I was sliding I couldn’t stop myself and had no choice.

“I did regret it.”

Mr Andrews and friends were on their way home from watching the PDC World Championships at Alexandra Palace.

He said at the time, he did not feel any pain because of how much he had had to drink.

However the next day, he was barely able to walk.

“I was so drunk I did not feel a thing until I woke up yesterday and could not move.”

He added: “My family think I was an idiot. But now it’s happened they think it’s really funny.

“I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone else though.”

The video, which has gone viral, has been viewed online nearly 10 million times.

One viewer called it “the best thing I’ve seen in 2017.”

London Underground has previously criticiseds people tempted to take the quick way down

A spokesman said: “Safety is our top priority and pranks like this are dangerous for not only those involved but also to other customers.

“We have frequent PA announcements reminding customers to be careful when using escalators, and we also run safety campaigns throughout the year to encourage customers to take care whilst traveling on our network.”

Stills and the original video here: Evening Standard