Horrifying moment pensioner, 80, is thrown from speeding vehicle and his wife left face down in a gutter after mugger snatched her handbag and fled in a white Transit van

• Elderly couple were walking home from a social club party in Bolton this month
• A man jumped out of a van and, after the couple joked with him, he took handbag
• The couple ran after him and husband jumped into his van to get the bag back
• Mugger drove off, knocking the woman to the ground and dragging man along

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An 80-year-old man was thrown from a speeding van and his wife left lying face down in a gutter after they were mugged following a St Patrick’s Day party.

Frank and Maria Stewart were walking home in Bolton from the event earlier this month when a man approached them and snatched Mrs Stewart’s handbag.

Mr Stewart then chased the mugger into his white transit and opened the passenger-side door to try to get his wife’s bag back.

But the heartless thief drove off, knocking 60-year-old Mrs Stewart to the ground and dragging her husband along the road before he too fell into the road.

This is the shocking moment a 60-year-old woman was thrown to the pavement and her 80-year-old husband was dragged along from the passenger-side door of a mugger’s van

Sickening CCTV footage from a nearby business captured the horrific moment, with Mrs Stewart left laying on the pavement, and her husband being thrown to the street.

The couple were initially attended to by a taxi driver, who called the police and an ambulance, which transported them to hospital.

They were lucky to escape without serious injuries; however, Mr Stewart suffered cuts and bruises and Mrs Stewart chipped a bone in her elbow.

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Grandmother-of-two Mrs Stewart said: ‘We were walking when this van suddenly came up next to us and a man jumped out.

‘He said he needed to go for a wee and I said, “Well I’m not looking” and my husband said, “It happens to us all”.

‘As quick as a flash he came to the side of me, whipped my bag off my shoulder and ran to his van. My husband went in after him and said “Give me my wife’s bag back”.

‘Then he drove off and I ended up on the ground, I think I lost my balance but I don’t remember what happened.

‘My husband was pushed out the van and ended up on the ground up the street I thought he was dead. I was crying and panicking.

Footage shows the couple running up to the van, with the mugger and a handbag inside

Mr Stewart remonstrates with the thief before trying to jump in and get his wife’s bag back

But the driver speeds off, knocking the 60-year-old woman to the floor as Mr Stewart holds on

Mrs Stewart added: ‘A taxi driver stopped to help and I think he’s the one who called 999, I can’t thank him enough.

‘I think he’s seen us come out and knows it’s St Patrick’s Day so thinks we’re drunk and easy targets.

‘It’s a very traumatic thing to go through. We’re both quite nervous about going out in the dark now.’

Mrs Stewart said she and her husband had just left a social club party at around 1am on March 18 when the incident happened. The walk between their home and the club is only two minutes.

As Mr Stewart was flung from the vehicle he managed to get his hands on another handbag that was in the cab of the van. Police took it in as evidence.

Staff at Royal Bolton Hospital treated Mr Stewart for a black eye, grazing to his face and a damaged hip.

The shocking incident unfolded in Higher Market Street in Bolton on Sunday, March 17

They put Mrs Stewart’s arm in a sling and also treated her for cuts and bruises.

The mugger threw her stolen handbag out of the van seconds after speeding away and it was returned to her by a passerby.

Bizarrely, the thief took a glasses case and tobacco but left Mrs Stewart’s phone and house keys inside.

Mrs Stewart described the mugger as in his 30s, of average height and with a Bolton accent.

Greater Manchester Police have been contacted for comment on the matter.

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