THIS is the terrifying moment a thug pulls out a huge machete and attacks a shopper in a busy city centre.

CCTV footage shows the victim standing by some benches when the man approaches from the side and slashes at him with the weapon.

As the terrified shopper attempts to flee, the thug then follows him out of shot as passers-by in Birmingham look on in horror.

The chilling footage - believed to have been filmed in the Square Shopping precinct at around 4.20pm on Friday - then cuts out.

It is understood police were contacted but the fate of the two men is unknown.

The horror is the latest act of violence to grip the UK as blood continues to be spilled across the country.

Crime levels have soared by more than half in some areas as the country sees it's biggest violent surge in 15 years.

Shocking figures reveal violence reported to cops in England and Wales rose by 14 per cent last year.

Shootings, stabbings and moped muggings have plagued Britain with figures from December 2016 to December 2017 showing crime has reached new and shocking levels.

Violent crimes totalled 1.29million across the whole of the UK, up by a fifth on the year before.

They included 37,443 stabbings, the most since current records began.

Sex offences were up by a quarter and rapes by a third, while gun crime rose by a fifth.

Police figures released last week also revealed moped gangs are striking 60 times every day in London alone.

The capital has been hit with a surge in stabbings and shootings this year - and has a higher murder rate than New York for the first time ever.

While moped-related attacks across the UK have risen an astounding 1,000 per cent in the past three years.

The 19,000 attacks in 2017 have risen from just 1,053 in 2014, with the bikes themselves being stolen to use in the crimes.