US mayor 'sorry' elderly woman removed from train

A Florida mayor has apologised to an elderly woman forcibly removed from a train for singing, local media report.

Emma Anderson, 82, was singing religious songs on a commuter train in southern Florida on 20 February.

She ignored warnings from a private security guard, her son said, and amateur video shows her falling as he appeared to drag her from the train.

Miami-Dade Transit has said it does not allow singing, dancing or playing a musical instrument without a permit.

"I was beating my beads in the bottle and I was singing a song," Ms Anderson told ABC News.

"So he came up and said, 'Ma'am, you're making too much noise.'"

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said: "The situation should have been handled with more care and common sense. Our patrons must be treated with dignity and respect."

The woman's son, Donald Anderson, told local media his mother had hurt her shoulder and hip in the altercation.

"I was very disgusted that somebody would handle an elderly person like that," he said.