SHOCKING video captures the moment an elderly woman is viciously knocked to the ground by a suspected thief running out of a shopping centre.
A man is seen with a bag under his arm as he barges into the woman, resulting in her taking a heavy fall.
Members of the public rush to help the woman as the man runs out of shot.
HGV driver Gordon Hunter, captured the incident on his dash cam outside Chadderton shopping mall in Oldham, Greater Manchester on Tuesday June 25.
He later posted the clip to Facebook where it has racked up more than 110,000 views.
Gordon captioned his post: “Chadderton shopping centre. Should have hit the thieving b****** hitting that old lady like that.”
The clip shows the man sprinting out of the shops in the direction of the main road carrying a large black bag.
As his path crosses that of the elderly lady, he shows no signs of stopping and shoulder barges her to the ground, sending her own bags flying in the process.
Gordon blasts the horn at the man as he runs out in front of his vehicle and without a care for the lady he has just knocked over.
Witnesses scramble to the aid of the woman who is struggling to move as she lies on the floor on her side and one can be seen shouting at the man as he runs away from view.
A staff member from the centre was chasing the perpetrator, but stopped in his tracks to help the woman.
Viewers of the clip have reacted to the incident by condemning the actions of the alleged thief.
Lauren Jackson said: “Hope that poor lady is ok! I hope he’s caught the scumbag.”
Gemma Durber asked: “Did anyone get a grip of him??”
Hayley Hall wrote: “Omg I’m crying. This is absolutely disgusting and I feel physically sick after seeing the way that poor lady was violently tackled.”
Some viewers agreed with Gordon that he should have stopped the man himself.
Ged Hisscott said: “I would have just splattered the stinking tosser.”
Keith Collinson wrote: “Should have hit him mate! What a selfish c***!”
And Paul Manning commented: “Should have flattened the b******.”
Gordon, 45, from Bury, Greater Manchester, said he only noticed what had happened after the perpetrator ran out in front of him.
Speaking today, he said: “I saw the commotion from the side of the road and didn’t know what was happening at first until he ran out in front of my 44 tonne truck.
“Since posting the video I’ve found out he was running from security. The lady was shaken but not badly hurt and her husband was called.”
Greater Manchester Police have confirmed that they are looking for the man who knocked down a 75-year-old woman yesterday afternoon.
Inspector Karen Taylor, from GMP’s Oldham District, said: “This is an awful incident which has resulted in an elderly lady suffering a broken wrist. Thankfully she is recovering well at home but she is understandably shaken and sore after her ordeal.
“Images of the moment when she was knocked to the ground have been caught on dash-cam and shared on social media. Members of the public will be understandably shocked by this and we would like to speak to the man who features in that footage in connection with this.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 0161 856 8972 quoting reference 1229 of 25 June 2019 or anonymously using the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
