Women report being 'body slammed' in public by men as disturbing new trend grows in London
We've seen a number of stupid trends emerge online in the past couple of decades, but this one might top the lot.
Women around London have been reporting the shocking attacks they have been facing, including either being shoved, chased, or even punched while on public transport or walking around the city in the day.
It's a trend that has seemingly made its way across the world from Japan, after local publications wrote about the rise in incidents earlier on this year.
Users on social media have admitted they have been 'body slammed' with no warning, in what has been dubbed 'butsukari otoko', meaning 'bumping man.'
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Publication Japan Times claimed that victims of most incidents on its shores were women, with attackers typically being middle-aged men, though specifics on the incidents in the UK haven't been shared.
TikToker Ayla Mellek, 20, took to the platform to reveal that she was left with whiplash after being body slammed to the ground in East London.
She was walking along the Mile End canal when the incident happened, explaining that she 'just got assaulted today in broad daylight.'
Mellek urged people: "Please, if you're in London you need to be so careful."
Speaking to her followers, she noted that it was busy in public and recalled: "There were cyclists, runners, just people walking, mothers with prams, it was bustling, people with dogs.
"I'm walking with my friend and there's this guy running towards me. He's massive, double my height, six foot four, he had muscles all over his shoulders and he was dressed in blue and he was running."
The Brit remembered him 'deep grunting' as he got closer, and as she tried to move out of his way, Mellek said: "But instead of going in this gap, this guy ran at me at full force and body slammed me to the ground.
"With so much force, this guy slammed me in the chest. I twisted in the air and landed face down on the floor."
She burst into tears as she half landed on the pavement, leaving her with red marks for hours afterward.
After getting to a cafe, she called her boyfriend to explain what happened, and another customer came over to admit they saw the same man push an elderly man.
Mellek then reported the incident to the police.
Back in Japan, an East Asian content creator named Sandy made a number of videos on the hot topic, interviewing people about their experiences with 'butsukari otoko.'
Speaking to one woman in particular, she explained: "I've had run-ins with them on the train,
"Also while walking on the streets," she claimed.
The woman recalled: "I saw a dude like, choosing women on the street to ram into them.
"So I tried to go around him, he chased me and rammed into me. He was probably around 50s to 60s."
The trend first appeared online in May 2018, with a man who would go on to be known as the 'Shinjuku Station Tackle Man' could be seen ramming into multiple women at Shinjuku Station.
In footage that went viral, a man with a black backpack could be seen forcefully shoulder-barging at least four women.
While targets of this horrific trend tend to be women, they can anyone that the perpetrators believe to be vulnerable in any sense.
Mellek would make a follow-up video about the growing trend and how it may have been linked to butsukari otoko, asking: "Why do they do this? Because these disgusting men get like 'off' on this feeling of violating and physically degrading and hurting women."
She highlighted: "This needs to be taken seriously. I'm in contact with the police and the police are also dealing with this.
"If you ever see anything like this in public - please do report this. It's a disgusting, growing trend."
LADbible has reached out to the Metropolitan Police for comment.
Topics: Crime, London, Social Media, TikTok, World News
Joshua Nair