Suspected thief knocks OAP to ground before he runs away with bag under his arm
A pensioner was knocked to the ground by a suspected thief running out of a shopping mall in Greater Manchester.
The moment was captured by HGV driver Gordon Hunter's dashcam as he managed to stop before hitting the man who fled the scene with a bag under his arm.
The man, wearing a black jacket and blue jeans, was seen running into the old woman on the side of the road before bolting off to a pedestrian crossing.
Gordon blasted the horn as the man crossed, showing no signs of stopping.
Shocked onlookers ran to help the elderly woman as some of them shouted at the man.
A staff member from the centre who was chasing the perpetrator also stopped in his tracks to help the woman.
The 75-year-old woman was left shaken after the ordeal but is recovering well at home, according to Greater Manchester Police.
Gordon later posted the clip to social media where it has since racked up more than 123,000 views.
He captioned it: "Chadderton shopping centre. Should have hit the thieving b******. Hitting that old lady like that."
The incident happened at around 1:30pm on June 25.
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 people 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 ** .”
Last month, footage emerged of a pensioner in Fallowfield, Manchester being wrestled to the ground by a robber attempting to steal her jewellery.
The suspect was riding past on a bicycle when he got off and tried to snatch the jewellery from the woman's wrists before being chased from the scene on May 9.
Greater Manchester Police has released a statement today as they appeal to the public for information.
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 25/06/19 or anonymously using the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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