Bulgarian 'who kicked a woman down a flight of stairs in Berlin’ is arrested when bus driver spots him complaining about a passenger using their phone loudly 

  • CCTV showed woman walking through station in Berlin when man aimed a kick
  • Svetoslav Stoykov, 26, from Varna, Bulgaria has been identified as prime suspect
  • He reportedly fled to France but was returning to Berlin on a Eurolines coach 
  • Bulgarian coach driver recognised him and called police to detain him on arrival 

By Chris Summers For Mailonline

Published: 05:24 EST, 19 December 2016 | Updated: 11:00 EST, 19 December 2016

A Bulgarian who allegedly kicked a woman down the stairs at an underground station in Berlin has been arrested after complaining loudly on a coach about a fellow passenger using a mobile phone.

The attack, in October, was captured on video and when it went viral earlier this month the prime suspect, Svetoslav Stoykov, 27, fled to France, where he hid with relatives in Nice.

But the father-of-three decided it was safe to head back to Berlin and boarded a Eurolines bus with his wife, Tsvetanka.

By chance the coach driver was also Bulgarian and when he heard him complaining about another passenger talking too loudly on her mobile phone, the pair began speaking in Bulgarian.

He said he then realised who his difficult passenger was and cooked up a plan with another passenger for the police to be called and they were waiting to arrest Stoykov when the bus arrived in Berlin.

Svetoslav Stoykov (pictured), was identified as the prime suspect for the attack. He fled to France but was arrested on his arrival back in Berlin

CCTV footage of the shocking attack, which showed a man kicking an unsuspecting woman down the stairs at an underground station while he casually smoked a cigarette while holding a bottle of beer, went around the world.

Dozens of police officers were waiting at the bus station in Berlin when Stoykov's coach arrived.

He had booked a ticket with extra legroom for the 21-hour journey from southern France.

The Berlin prosecutor's office said Stoykov did not put up any resistance during his arrest.

The man believed to be Stoykov, dressed in jeans and a leather jacket, aims a targeted kick at her back, toppling her down the stairs

Stoykov, who was originally from the city of Varna in his native Bulgaria, has been interviewed by prosecutors in Berlin but it is unclear if he is admitting or denying his involvement in the incident.

Thomas Fels, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office, said a judge had ordered he be taken into preventative detention on suspicion of committing grievous bodily injury.

Under German criminal law, Stoykov could face anywhere from six months to 10 years in prison if convicted of having inflicted grievous bodily injury.

The attacker's three companions glance at the woman lying on the floor before leaving. One of them even leans down to pick up a beer bottle and then walks off

He is already well-known to Bulgarian law enforcement, where he has a lengthy criminal record which involves multiple convictions for robbery, theft and hooliganism.

In the video the four men can be seen following the young woman down into the metro, with one of them kicking her while she is going down the stairs. 

She lands painfully on her face, sprawling on the hard surface, the contents of her handbag scattering across the floor. 

The attacker, flanked by three friends, walks back up the stairs and saunters away. 

One of his accomplices lingers for a second to retrieve a dropped bottle and then strolls away with the rest.

A crowd of people quickly came to help the woman, who was taken to hospital, according to local media. 

Stoykov's in-laws, Elmaz (left) and Ibryan (right) spoke to a TV reporter. Ibryan said she had no wish to see the video

Bulgarian media reported that all four men in the shocking video were Bulgarians.

Last week a Bulgarian TV journalist visited the Stoykov's house in the Maksuda district of Varna and spoke to his in-laws through a huge iron gate at the front of the house. 

Stoykov's mother-in-law Ibryan said: 'We don't know about the video. We haven't seen it, and I don't want to watch it.'

After the video went viral, a €2,000 (£1,677) reward was offered by bodyguard Michael Kuehr, 54, who worked for Lady Gaga and Charlize Theron. 

CCTV shows the young woman walking through the metro station in Berlin when the man comes up behind her, holding a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other

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