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Ring doorbell captures moment woman is pushed over at junction of Windmill Road and Longhill Avenue, Gillingham

17:08, 11 August 2021

updated: 18:07, 11 August 2021

A badly-bruised woman says she is lucky not to have been seriously injured after being shoulder barged in the street.

Former community nurse Susan Linnell was walking her pet dog Cody when a stranger ran into her with force.

The moment the man barges into the pensioner in Gillingham

The 65-year-old crashed to the ground and banged her head on a cast-iron bin – leaving her with a large bump and a black eye.

However, the stranger continued running, unconcerned for Susan as she lay prone on the ground.

The incident happened around 8.30pm on Friday at the junction of Windmill Road and Longhill Avenue in Gillingham.

After she lay there calling for help for about a minute, a good Samaritan van driver came to her aid as did a woman.

Police and medics were called but Susan, who used to work with people with learning disabilities, wanted to go home.

Captured walking past a house after the incident
Captured walking past a house after the incident

She said: "I was hurt but didn't want to go to hospital and just sit there waiting to be seen."

Her worried daughter Becky rushed to the scene and took her to where she lives in nearby Nelson Road.

Five days later, Susan says she still has the bump and bruising on her arm, shoulder and back.

She said: "It was such a shock, it happened so quickly. I looked up and saw him and he just went at me.

"I didn't know who he was, I've never seen him or spoken to him."

The stranger who pushed Susan Linnell to the ground
The stranger who pushed Susan Linnell to the ground

The man was wearing tracksuit bottoms with a white stripe, a black and white hoodie and he had a hi-vis jacket with him.

Susan estimates he was around 6ft tall but didn't get a good look at his face to offer a proper description.

Since the incident, Becky has spoken to residents whose Ring doorbells caught the collision on camera.

Footage which she posted online in the hope of tracking down the man has been viewed thousands of times.

Becky says the stranger, who is in his late teens or 20s, was last seen near Chatham town hall.

The stranger running from the scene
The stranger running from the scene

Susan walks shih tzu-cross-chihuahua Cody on a daily basis as she visits her 90-year-old mum.

Despite being battered and bruised by the encounter, she joked how the five-year-old pet was unable to help.

She said: "Maybe if I'd he'd been a Staffie, the man would have thought differently."

Although still worried by what happened, she added that she wouldn't be beaten by it.

"I am not stopping going out," she said. "I will keep going and doing what I do."

Anyone with information is asked to call call Kent Police on 01634 792209 quoting 46/142186/21 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Read more: All the latest news from Medway

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