An American woman was left anxious and paranoid after being attacked by three "schoolgirls" on a Croydon tram.

Haley Winstead, 27, was travelling from Waddon Marsh to her New Addington home when three young girls boarded at Addington Village.

They soon began abusing her, mocking her appearance, throwing rubbish at her and impersonating her accent when she asked them to stop.

"I felt scared. My whole body was shaking and I was trying so hard to keep composed," Ms Winstead said.

"It's caused my anxiety to kick off and I've been really paranoid since.

"I had to ride the tram today to work and I spent the whole ride constantly looking down towards the other cars, ready to get off if I saw them.

"It's messed with my mental health."

Ms Winstead, an administrative assistant at a cosmetics company, reported the incident to police immediately after.

Although none of her fellow passengers intervened to stop the abuse, Ms Winstead says she has since been approached on Facebook by witnesses willing to give police statements.

She describes two of the girls as "early teenagers," while the third "couldn't have been older than 10."

"I honestly don't know why they targetted me," she added.

"I feel that originally it was due to my appearance - I stand out aesthetically - however once they heard me speak they got worse.

"They started mocking my American accent and got more loud and aggressive with me.

"This was about the time they started throwing trash at me."

Ms Winstead believes a tough response is required, arguing that the girls should be banned from public transport.

"I also believe the parents should have some type of punishment," she added.

"They've clearly turned a blind eye to this behaviour and clearly don't seem to care where their children go or what they do."

A spokesperson for the Met, who were contacted this Monday, said: "Police were called on Monday, June 10 at around 7pm hours to a report of an altercation that occurred on a tram in New Addington.

"An appointment has been scheduled for later on today, Monday, June 17 for a report to be taken from the complainant. "