This is the shocking moment a man performs a vicious roundhouse kick on a woman as she takes part in a peaceful protest against abortion.

The irate stranger targeted Marie-Claire Bissonnette, 27, after she accused him of vandalising pro-life activists' signs and clothing with permanent marker pens.

Jaw-dropping footage shows the seemingly unprovoked assault at the annual Life Chain street demonstration in Toronto, Canada, on Sunday.

Miss Bissonnette took out her phone and filmed as the man became increasingly aggressive and challenged her views on abortion rights for rape victims.

When she replied 'it's a baby' and abortion was 'killing', the man spun round and kicked her in the shoulder - knocking her phone to the floor.

The thug then tried to justify his actions by claiming he had been aiming for her phone and hit her by mistake, before fleeing the scene.

Toronto Police Service confirmed it is investigating. No arrests have been made.

The attacker has been named locally as Jordan Hunt and he has reportedly been fired from his job as a hair stylist after footage of the assault went viral.

In a statement on Instagram, his former employer Noble Studio 101 said: 'It has been brought to our attention that Jordan Hunt has been caught on camera assaulting an innocent bystander at a pro-life rally.

'We don't condone his actions and he has been let go.

'We believe that everyone has a right to an opinion and the right to voice their opinion without fear of physical violence.'

Jordan Hunt menacingly approaches the woman at the annual Life Chain street demonstration in Toronto, Canada, on Sunday

He sticks out his tongue and adopts a fighting stance as she responds to his argument about rape

He then performs a vicious roundhouse kick on the woman, knocking her phone to the floor

Footage shows the attacker initially apologising to another activist after allegedly ruining her new jacket.

A counter-protester warns that he is being filmed and urges him to calm down.

But the thug then turns to face Miss Bissonnette and becomes agitated.

He says: 'If somebody gets raped by somebody and they're like "I'm a 16-year-old and I can't have this baby", think you should keep it?'

He then makes a patronising thumbs up then thumbs down gesture.

She replies: 'It's a baby. If someone is raped and she gave birth then she decided to kill her child.'

Marie-Claire Bissonnette, who was roundhouse kicked by Hunt

Without warning the man suddenly adopts a fighting stance and delivers a fierce roundhouse kick to his victim, knocking the phone out of her hand.

She shouts 'do not touch me' and urges witnesses to call the police as the fleeing suspect cries: 'I meant to hit your phone.'

Miss Bissonnette escaped with minor injuries to her shoulder but was left distraught following her ordeal.

In a statement she said: 'I've participated in many public pro-life activities throughout my life. This isn't the first time I've been attacked.

'Rocks have been thrown at me. I've been spat upon multiple times and pushed.

'Men have aggressively asked how I would like it if they raped me and forced me to have an abortion.

'There is a media-driven narrative that pro-life activists are violent and a danger to women. This is a bald-faced lie.

'The only violence or aggression I've witnessed in my many years in the pro-life movement comes entirely from pro-abortion activists, and yet it's rarely, if ever, reported.

Hunt tried to justify his actions by claiming he had been aiming for her phone and hit her by mistake, before fleeing the scene

Hunt talking to pro-choice activists before he carried out the vicious assault

'I want to be clear that I empathise with any girl or woman who's experienced the trauma and invasion of sexual assault.

'I can't imagine what it's like but the thought alone is abhorrent and painful. I in no way want to diminish or dismiss the torment of that experience or the gravity of the crime.

'And becoming pregnant through that awful experience puts a girl or woman in a very tough situation which forces upon her a decision that will have lifelong effects.

'But the reality is that a woman who has conceived in rape has become a mother, and I cannot support a procedure that would make her the mother of a dead child.'

A Toronto Police Service spokesman said: 'A woman attended a peaceful protest in the Keele Street and Bloor Street area when an unknown man approached the protesters and was very disruptive.

'During the interaction the man performed a roundhouse kick on the woman and fled before police attended. Her injuries were non-life-threatening.

'The investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made at this time.'