A Carpenders Park man who went on a drunken racist rant at a London Underground passenger has been jailed for 12 weeks.

Keith Hurdle was arrested after being filmed shouting abuse at a Japanese passenger on the Bakerloo Line.

The footage was later posted on YouTube and went viral after celebrities linked to the clip via their Twitter pages.

The 52-year-old, who had admitted public order offences at a previous hearing, was told his behaviour on the train was of "an extremely unpleasant nature", when he appeared for sentencing at Westminster Magistrates' Court today.

Hurdle, of Harrow Way, said at the time of the rant he was "consumed with alcohol" after drinking while watching the England World Cup Qualifier victory against Poland in a pub from 4pm on October 15.

The court also heard Hurdle had had an alcohol problem since the 1990s, which has resulted in the breakdown of his marriage and the loss of his job earlier this year.

When police questioned Hurdle about the tirade, he said: "I don’t recall anything about the exchange of words on the train and I would like to apologise to those concerned."

He later added: "I apologise. I didn’t mean to. If I abused them I didn’t mean to do it. I don’t know what to say, I can’t remember any of it."

Prosecutor, Zahid Hussain, told the court Kuniko Ingram, the Japanese victim who Hurdle shouted racist abuse at, was on her way home from her human resources job when Hurdle began shouting.

Hurdle, who claimed he was in the parachute regiment, told the victim to get off the train because his uncle had died at the hands of the Japanese during the Second World War.

In Mrs Ingram’s statement read out to the court, she explained she tried to ignore Hurdle while he was yelling at her.

She said: "I felt chills down my spine and I was fearful as I was becoming a target of his abuse."

During Hurdle’s tirade, he questioned how long Mrs Ingram has lived in the country and told her to go back home.

Another passenger approached Mrs Ingram, advising her to get off the train at the next stop, which she did.

When she got home, the victim told her husband, but they decided not to report it to police because they thought it would be difficult to track Hurdle down.

It was not until she heard about the YouTube clip going viral that she decided to contact the police.

Hurdle also pleaded guilty to using threatening behaviour towards the man who filmed the assault, Mr Ali.

Mr Ali was on his way to a family dinner when Hurdle, who was sitting opposite him, began yelling at Mrs Ingram.

When Mr Ali challenged Hurdle about his behaviour, Hurdle replied: "I will knock you out with one punch" and then took a wine bottle out of his bag and began drinking it.

Hurdle, who was wearing a long brown tweed coat with a white shirt, tie and grey pin-striped trousers, partially shielded his face while a clip of the tirade was played out in court.

Speaking in Hurdle’s defence, Patrick O’Reilly, said: "You can’t reason with a drunk and I think that’s reflected obviously in the footage."

The court was told Hurdle became dependent on alcohol after his mother was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.

Chairman of the bench, Jane Hepburn, said: "These offences are of an extremely unpleasant nature and committed on public transport against London passengers within the confines of an underground train."

She added that, as the tirade was "aggressive and prolonged we feel it passes the custody threshold".