This is the shocking moment a greengrocer was left with a broken leg after attempting to stop a car thief stealing his 4x4 and trailer of apples by clinging on to the roof.
Self-employed father-of-one Stuart Timmins suffered horrendous injuries when the truck's trailer went over his left leg, smashing it in two places and narrowly missing his head.
Mr Timmins, a 48-year-old fruit and veg merchant from Gornal, West Midlands, was inside his shop on March 25 when he heard the car door slam and spotted Chase Edwards, 30, in the driving seat when he ran outside to investigate.
He fearlessly clung on to his two-tonne Mitsubishi Shogun as the thief sped away from his shop at high speed, trying to smash the driver's window and grab the keys as it raced away at 40mph.
The shocking CCTV footage shows Mr Timmins desperately clinging onto the red and silver truck before losing his grip and falling into the road.
Self-employed father-of-one Stuart Timmins suffered horrendous injuries when the truck's trailer went over his left leg, smashing it in two places and narrowly missing his head.
Mr Timmins, a 48-year-old fruit and veg merchant from Gornal, West Midlands, was inside his shop on March 25 when he heard the car door slam and spotted Chase Edwards, 30, in the driving seat when he ran outside to investigate.
He fearlessly clung on to his two-tonne Mitsubishi Shogun as the thief sped away from his shop at high speed, trying to smash the driver's window and grab the keys as it raced away at 40mph.
The shocking CCTV footage shows Mr Timmins desperately clinging onto the red and silver truck before losing his grip and falling into the road.
He suffered a complex fracture of the tibia and fibula in his left leg as well as cuts and bruises.
He had to undergo two operations, one to stabilise his leg initially and a second to insert 17 permanent pins and two plates, after the horrific accident and faces further medical procedures and months of gruelling physiotherapy.
Mr Timmins, who is still unable to walk three months after the incident, described the 'horrifying' ordeal.
He said today: 'The penny didn't drop for one minute that he shouldn't be there then I thought "hang on, he's trying to nick my car", by which time he'd got the car started.
'Naturally, instinct took over and I jumped on to the side step.
'He was gathering speed and I was desperately trying to smash the driver-side window and gain access to the ignition keys to cut the engine.
'Unfortunately the window didn't break as planned, by which time we had turned the corner at the top of the drive and we were heading down the street gathering speed.
'I thought 'I have either got to hang on and suffer the consequences or let go' and I chose to do the latter.
'In your mind's eye it was just a bit of a tumble and a roll and then you come to a halt.
'But as the footage shows it was a lot more graphic, a lot more horrific, and my injuries show that.'
He added: 'Being self-employed I'm just thankful for good family and good friends that we are managing to continue on with the business.'
Edwards was jailed at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Monday for various thefts, robbery, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance.
He pleaded guilty to the theft of Stuart's Mitsubishi - which has never been recovered - and was jailed for four seven years and four months.
Speaking after Edwards was jailed, Sergeant Clive Steedman, from Dudley Police's Offender Management Team, said: 'We hope that this sentence gives some closure to Mr Timmins as he continues to recover from his ordeal.
'We are pleased that the court recognised the severity of the crime and as a team, we will be working with the offender upon his release, along with support agencies, to help prevent re-offending.'
Source : SkyNews,DM
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