Man Pleads Guilty To Frenzied Rush Hour Machete Attack On London Station Platform That Left Victim Fighting For His Life

A 20-year-old man has pleaded guilty to a savage knife attack on a busy West London railway platform that left a man with life-threatening injuries in front of horrified rush hour commuters.
Aidan Watts, of Cremorne Estate in Kensington and Chelsea, admitted grievous bodily harm ahead of a trial that concluded on 12 March at Inner London Crown Court. Two associates — Jakada Joseph, 22, of Cambridge Gardens, Kensington and Chelsea, and Stefan Kosavac-Godart, 19, of no fixed address — were convicted of affray. All three will be sentenced at the same court on 16 April.
The attack took place at Imperial Wharf station in Chelsea at just after 5.20pm on 18 June 2025, during the evening rush hour. British Transport Police were called to reports of a stabbing and arrived to find a 20-year-old man with multiple stab wounds to his thigh, abdomen and buttocks. He was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery.
Investigators established that the victim had been travelling on the same train as Watts and his associates, though the carriage was too crowded for either party to have seen the other. It was only when the victim stepped off the train and began walking along the platform toward the exit that the group spotted him. Recognising him, the three ran to confront him, chased him along the platform and tripped him before Watts carried out the attack.
Witnesses at the scene described seeing Watts fleeing with a machete fitted with a distinctive red 40cm blade. CCTV footage subsequently obtained by detectives showed Watts discarding clothing at a nearby residential estate shortly after the attack. The red-bladed knife was recovered close by, having been concealed near a set of maintenance units on the estate.
Watts was arrested four days after the attack on 22 June. Joseph was arrested on 3 July and Kosavac-Godart on 29 July.
Detective Chief Inspector Paul Attwell, the senior investigating officer, said the two groups had been within feet of each other on the same train and that the violence could have been avoided entirely had the group not spotted the victim on the platform.
Anyone who witnesses or experiences an offence on the rail network is urged to text British Transport Police on 61016 or call 0800 40 50 40. In an emergency, dial 999.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​