Suspected thief falls out of getaway car at Rotherham Parkgate centre

Shoppers who found thieves trying to steal their car photographed the moment one of the suspected gang fell out of their getaway vehicle.

In a post on Facebook group Sheffield Online, the owner published a picture of a youth being dragged along by the car at the Parkgate Shopping Centre in Rotherham.

The anonymous poster said they were leaving the shopping centre when they saw a "young boy" attempting to steal their blue Ford Fiesta.

They said a silver Ford Fiesta was parked adjacent to their car with a group of accomplices inside.

The post said: "As soon as the boy heard us he quickly left our vehicle to get into the other vehicle and nearly hit us while they tried to escape.

"Luckily I didn’t get hit. The boy that tried stealing our vehicle slipped out [of] their vehicle and scraped his leg and hit his chin.

"We ran towards him to stop him but his friend that was sat in the rear seat waved a machete knife at us to scare us off so his friend could get back into the vehicle after falling out."The incident, on Wednesday 22 March, was reported to South Yorkshire Police.

A force spokesperson said officers were investigating reports of an attempted wounding and vehicle theft.

They said: "It is reported that on Wednesday 22 March at 2.30pm a man returned to their car parked in a car park and found an unknown man inside.

"The man is then alleged to have got into another vehicle which is reported to have been deliberately driven at the victim before fleeing the scene. The victim was unharmed during the incident."

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