Security at a shopping centre have been called 'disgusting' after footage emerged showing them forcibly restraining a homeless man.
The horrific video shows at least three security staff pinning the man to a wall while he yells that they have broken his arm.
Then, once the man has been brought to the floor, one of the security staff appears to deliberately block the view of the camera and states that the man is being drunk and aggressive.
The footage, which was shot on December 13 at the intu Lakeside shopping centre in West Thurrock, was shot by Chelsey Charlotte, who was so shocked by what she was witnessing that she got out her phone and started to capture it.
She claims that the man was asking the security workers to let him warm himself up inside before moving on.
After the incident, the 23-year-old from South Ockendon, Essex, shared the video on her social media.
She wrote: "Poor man is homeless, trying to keep warm under the bus shelters in Lakeside, dragging the poor man around just because he didn't move."
Charlotte continued: "Not enough respect goes to these homeless people, knowing how hard it's getting this year round. Me and Janey Amanda put £5 each in his bag, so hopefully he sees it and gets some food."
During the course of the video, the man can be seen being trapped against a wall near to the bus shelters that he was sitting in.
He asks the staff: "Where's my stuff?"
Then, he screams and says: "You've broken me arm, you've broken me arm, you've broken me arm."
As the situation develops, one of the staff tells the man: "You better start calming down and listening to us."
Shocked passers-by can be heard expressing their shock at the incident, before one of the security staff tells Chelsey: "Are you filming? You need to stop, they've got their body cams on. He is just intoxicated but he is being aggressive."
Speaking today, Chelsey said: "I was just out doing Christmas shopping if I'm honest with my sister in law, and was absolutely shocked on what we both saw.
"I've actually seen him a few times as I've lived here all my life, I'm not the type to speak up but when I see what was happening, I was shocked."
"Before I started recording they were shouting in his face. All he said before the camera was turned on was, 'I'm cold let me just get warm and I'll move'.
"This time of year especially is very hard for the homeless, he's not one of those that leaves his house with a dog and beg for money - he's genuinely homeless. It's cold outside, it's coming up to Christmas.
"I think the way security in intu Lakeside was not appropriate and in my opinion I feel like they were bullying him because they thought they could do whatever they wanted because they are security.
"He wasn't doing anything wrong at all. I was there, and they told me to stop filming which I did."
A spokesperson for intu Lakeside confirmed that their staff had been involved in an incident at intu Lakeside in the afternoon of Friday 13th December.
He said: "We expect our security team to act professionally and follow the correct procedures when handling incidents such as these, which they did on this occasion.
"We are continuing to work alongside Essex Police on this matter and therefore are unable to provide any further comment."
Essex Police said a man had been arrested and then dearrested and told he 'faces no further action due to a lack of evidence'.
Featured Image Credit: Deadline NewsTopics: UK News