Four women sped off in a car after they were accused of shoplifting by a man who says he witnessed them steal in broad daylight.

A 44-year-old man from Barnoldswick was waiting in Townsmoor Retail Park car park while his partner was doing some shopping when he noticed something was off on the morning of Saturday, July 23.

The man said he watched the four women, who appeared to around the ages of 40, put masks on to cover their faces and pull up their hoods as they got out of a black Toyota and walked into the clothes shop TK Maxx.

Lancashire Telegraph: Photos of the car and of the women as they drove off. (Faces and reg number have been blurred)Photos of the car and of the women as they drove off. (Faces and reg number have been blurred)

Giving a rundown of what he witnessed, the man said: “I watched them go into TK Maxx and a few minutes later one woman comes out.

"She opens the car door and pulls loads of clothes out of her gown then goes into Boots and does the same thing.”

After witnessing what he believed to be shoplifting, the man ran into TK Maxx shouting “security, security, you’ve got thieves in the shop".

The man said the male security guard told him it was, unfortunately, too late to do anything about it.

Disappointed he hadn’t caught them red handed, the man said he continued watching the group of four women go into Boots and then Next.

He added: “I noticed a young lad, around 16 years old, sat in the passenger seat of the car who must’ve been on the lookout.

"The whole thing seemed very calculated, like they’ve done it before.”

Lancashire Telegraph: The car sped out of the exit of Townsmoor Retail Park car park and onto the main road. The car sped out of the exit of Townsmoor Retail Park car park and onto the main road.

After a while longer, the man decided to run into Boots and Next to inform the shop assistants of what he saw happening and then tried to confront the women.

“I shouted ‘thieves, thieves, thieves, the cops are coming for you' and they ran back to their car and sped off like they were in a race.

“They’d parked in a disabled spot where you could just drive in a straight line out of the car park and onto the main road.

“They drove so fast, and there were children around and stuff. They should have got done for theft and for speeding.”

The man shared that he felt so strongly about trying to catch the ‘shoplifters’ because of a past experience.

He said: “I’ve been robbed before, and it was horrible. It’s not right that people can get away with this.

“I wish I could’ve stopped them myself, but my partner said don’t get involved because it isn’t worth it.”

The man and his partner reported the incident to Crimestoppers but have not received a response yet.

Lancashire Police have been contacted for a comment.