A robber injured two women as he tried to steal a car belonging to one of them off a driveway in Staffordshire before fleeing in a waiting getaway vehicle.

He had jumped into the Ford Focus, which had been left running by a 72-year-old woman. She had gone to chat to her friend after parking in the driveway of her home in Burntwood Road, Hammerwich, Burntwood.

The car owner and her 64-year-old friend stood in the way of the departing thief and he reversed into them, before abandoning the vehicle and fleeing in another car waiting nearby.

He climbed into a red or maroon saloon car which sped off along Burntwood Road towards the village post office.

The women suffered minor injuries and were released from hospital hours later.

Two men, aged 40 and 45, have been arrested on suspicion of attempted robbery and released on bail.

Investigating officer Insp Jed White said: “Detectives have spoken to numerous witnesses but need to talk with anyone else who saw the car or the offender.”

He  warned drivers to never their car running.

Anyone with information about the attempted robbery, at 1.15pm on Monday, is asked to call Staffordshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 307 of November 21.