Two members of Saudi Arabia's 'virtue police' have been arrested for 'chasing girls' after footage emerged of them brutally shoving a crying girl to the ground - revealing her leg.

The girl and her friend are said to have attracted the attention of the strict state's police after not covering their faces properly.

But after they covered them, the officers tried to pull them into a vehicle and then gave chase - with the violent end result captured on camera outside a shopping mall in the capital Riyadh.

The girl was only rescued thanks to a brave security guard, who risked the wrath of the morality police to pull her to safety.

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Horrifying: The so-called 'virtue police' were filmed violently pushing a young woman to the ground after having chased her for 'half an hour'. The men have now been arrested by Saudi officials

Outrage: The video has been widely shared on social media, and provoked widespread anger on her behalf

The young woman's case, filmed and widely shared online two weeks ago, led to a wave of indignation across the country.

It has forced the state of act, with the Asharq al-Awsat and Okaz dailies quoting the interior ministry as saying 'the individuals implicated in this assault were arrested for interrogation'.

The girls revealed to local newspapers how they had been told to cover their faces as they tried to hail a taxi by members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Mutawaa).

At first they hadn't complied, but as the officers made to get out of their vehicle, they covered up their faces as they had been asked.

But the commission members were not satisfied, and the girls fled - one escaping through the mall, and the other to the main avenue, where she was caught.

According to Gulf News, mall security guard Mubarak Al Dossari revealed: 'They chased the girl for half an hour before she was made to fall on the ground where a part of her body was unveiled in public.

'I was shocked to see the Commission member hold the girl violently in his attempt to arrest her, which prompted me to jump in and rescue her and put her on a school bus.'

Mr Al Dossari has since been given protection by his employers, who fear for his safety for daring to speak out against the Mutawaa, who have often been accused of abuses.

Morality: The unidentified girl was pursued because they thought she was exposing too much of her face

Patrol: It is the officers job to enforce a strict segregation of the sexes and have traditionally ensured that women cover themselves from head-to-toe when in public, among other things

They enforce a strict segregation of the sexes and have traditionally ensured that women cover themselves from head-to-toe when in public.

They also patrol shops to make sure they are shuttered during prayer times.

But the officers do not have a particularly noticeable presence in many parts of the Saudi capital.

In 2013, religious policemen were arrested after their patrol car crashed into another vehicle during a chase that left two men dead.

Public opinion is divided over the role of the religious police.