Shocking moment woman lunges at shop staff and customers before being shoved to the floor as brawl breaks out over social distancing rules

This is the shocking moment a woman started lunging at customers and shop workers before being bundled to the floor after a brawl broke out in a supermarket over social distancing rules.

Dramatic video captured the violence erupting inside the store in the Lozells area of Birmingham after the woman allegedly mistook one customer for a staff member.

She was said to have become angry at the man failing to follow social distancing measures at the New Medina Superstore on Easter Sunday.

In the video, the woman can be heard asking the store owner: 'Do you own this shop? Why do you have a worker like that?'

She starts swinging at several men who quickly become involved in the scuffle as another person starts shouting 'He is a customer. He is a customer.'

The men start to push her towards the door and the woman appears to be wrestled to the floor during the scuffle.  

Many bystanders look on bemused at what is happening as products are strewn across the aisles. A man in a red top then tries to break up the fight.

He says: 'There were five of you on a woman. Just calm down, calm down.' 

Then the owner adds: 'She smashed up my shop. I haven't done anything wrong. It was all her.' 

A worker at the Medina Superstore, who did not want to be named, said tempers flared after the woman became irate at the man flouting social distancing rules.

The store can be seen full of customers, despite government advice to remain 6ft (2m) apart, while only a few people are wearing masks or protective equipment.

The employee said: 'It was an issue between two customers. It all started over the social distancing protocols. The male customer was standing in her way, talking to another person. He was basically blocking her path.

'The woman started shouting about social distancing and got angry. She actually then left the store but then came back because she thought he was a worker.

'That's why you can hear someone say he's a customer. He's nothing to do with us. I think she really got angry when she saw someone recording.

She did apologise later, on the phone. She is actually a regular customer with us. This is something that happens sometimes. But we are a genuine business.

'We've got a Post Office too and we could have had 90 per cent of our salary paid by closing due to the coronavirus outbreak.

'However, we thought that we are the only Post Office open and NHS staff, older people and people who don't have anybody rely on us. If we close, what are they going to do?

'We're genuine people, but when somebody starts throwing punches and starts chucking stuff off the shelves, damaging property, we're not gonna allow that.

'With social distancing, people are getting easily offended. She's not a small woman, she's actually quite big, so when she got violent we had to get her out of the shop and keep people safe.

'It was not a her and us kind of mentality. That's not right. We serve all kinds of people.'

West Midlands Police said: 'We are investigating after a woman was assaulted by a group of men at a shop on Lozells Road, Lozells at 2.30pm on Sunday (12 April) after it is alleged she confronted one of them about social distancing.

'Fortunately she was not seriously injured.

'Anyone with information can contact us via Live Chat at west-midlands.police.uk between 8am and midnight, call 101 anytime or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Please quote crime reference number 20BW/88306D/20.'