This is the bizarre moment a middle-aged woman armed with a knife slashes the tyres of a parked car outside a city shopping centre.

The puzzling scene took place in broad daylight as a crowd of gawping bystanders gathered to watch near a Santander branch in Haymarket, Leicester city centre, shortly after 3pm on Tuesday.

Footage filmed by a passer-by appears to show the red-haired woman using the six-inch blade to puncture at least two of the car's tyres as she argues with a man across the street.

As she brazenly vandalises the vehicle, she turns to tell onlookers to 'call the police right now' - as if she is the victim.

Despite the amount of witnesses, only one person appears to try and stop her as she damages the car for more than a minute before strolling off.

Officers from Leicestershire Police were called to the scene but by the time they arrived the suspect was gone. Officers are now appealing for the public's help to identify her.

Footage posted on social media yesterday appears to show the woman - wearing a black coat, black skirt and trainers - opening the front passenger door and brandishing a knife.

The red-haired woman can be seen trying to force the driver's door of a VW backwards as a crowd of people gather on the other side of the street in the centre of Leicester

A stunned witness cries 'she's got a knife' as the woman starts repeatedly stabbing the tyre, but she fails to puncture it.

A man then starts shouting at her from across the road in a foreign language but she ignores him and starts stabbing one of the rear tyres - which is heard bursting.

Another man tries to calm her down but she continues her rampage, shouting at witnesses to 'call the police' before slashing the front tyre on the driver's side.

An onlooker shouts 'yo, she's just popped his tyre, bro' and some in the crowd laugh.

She then appears to pull a six-inch knife out of her handbag and stab at one of the front wheels before going around the other side of the car

A second video clip shows the suspect targeting the other rear tyre before calmly walking away with the knife still clearly visible in her hand.

A Leicestershire Police spokeswoman said: 'Officers are carrying out further enquiries after damage was caused to a car in the city centre on Tuesday, November 12.

'Police received a report from a member of the public just after 3pm that a woman was seen slashing the tyres of a car parked near the Clock Tower.

A man goes over in an attempt to stop her stabbing anymore wheels

'Officers were deployed to the incident and the woman wasn't traced.

'Enquiries are continuing into the incident and the circumstances leading up to it.

'Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information which could assist officers is asked to contact 101, quoting incident 363 of November 12.'