Women deliberately 'body slammed' by strangers in sick trend spreading across UK

Women have described being deliberately 'body slammed' by strangers after a cruel misogynistic trend reached the UK.

So-called 'Butsukari otoko' attacks - in which a man deliberately throws his weight at a random woman in public - are said to be on the rise in Britain after first being reported in . The shocking incidents, which often leave victims injured and severely shaken, are believed to have originated among '' in the country - an online community of men who hold hateful and often violent views about the opposite sex.

In the UK, many of these incidents have been reported on , though others have recalled being subjected to the attacks outside in "broad daylight".

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One 20-year-old woman said she had been walking along Mile End canal in East London on a "busy day" when she was suddenly slammed into by a "massive" man.

She said the impact knocked her to the ground, and left her suffering from whiplash for days afterwards.

Influencer Ayla Mellek said on TikTok: "There were cyclists, runners, just people walking, mothers with prams, it was bustling, people with .

"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.

"He literally was just somebody who was running along the canal - a lot of people jog - and we were walking.

"He's grunting, and I can hear he's grunting as he's getting closer to me, deep, deep grunting and growling.

"So I twist my body so he can get past me because it is a bit crowded. There was a gap for him to get past me, 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."

After getting back to her feet, Ayla said she initially had wondered whether it had been an accident - but soon afterwards a couple approached her and told her they had seen the same man "push someone into the water", making it clear to her that she had been the victim of a deliberate attack

She reported the incident to police, but has so far been told that no arrests have been made.

Other women also shared stories of similar attacks in London in the comments section of the video.

One wrote: "This happened to me outside of Old Street station a few months ago! I was waiting to cross the road and a man running body slammed me so hard I got knocked over backwards onto the concrete."

Another said: "As well as cutting my elbow, hitting my head, bruising my hands and wrists, my camera that was in my bag broke from the impact and I had to pay to get it fixed."