An 83-year-old woman was seriously hurt by an alleged thief fleeing a department store yesterday afternoon.

The elderly woman was knocked over in Wimbledon Hill Road at about 2.10pm by a man fleeing the shop where a theft had been reported to police.

One man was stopped by security staff after reports of shoplifting but a second man ran away knocking over an elderly woman who received serious injuries.

London Ambulance Service were called and the woman was taken to a south London hospital where she was in a serious but stable condition.

Robert John Paul, 40, of Waldemar Road, Wimbledon, was arrested and later charged with one count of theft from a shop.

He was bailed to appear at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, September 3.

A police spokesperson said a 36-year-old man handed himself into police later the same day and was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm.

He was in custody at a south London police station this afternoon.