AN elderly woman was badly injured when a minicab was stolen as she was getting into it at a supermarket in Bradford.

The 94-year-old was being helped into the back seat of the black Volkswagen Passat by its driver at the Asda store in Rooley Lane, when a man jumped in and drove it away.

As a result, the pensioner fell to the floor and suffered a fractured shoulder. She was taken to hospital for treatment and remains there today in a stable condition, said police.

The incident happened at about 3.05pm yesterday in the store's car park.

The thief is described as an Asian man with dark hair, who was possibly wearing a hooded top.

Detective Inspector Ryan Bragg, of Bradford District CID, said: "This incident happened in a busy supermarket car park in broad daylight and I am certain there will have been people who witnessed what happened, or people who may have seen the suspect before he approached the vehicle.

"We would also like to hear from anyone who may have seen a vehicle of similar description driving erratically after the incident."

Nadeem Ahmed, of the Independent Private Hire Association of Bradford, said: "My sympathies go out to the lady, of course, and to the driver. It is a very, very unfortunate incident.

"In this regard it sounds like it is a targeted attack. People do feel that taxis have either money or equipment like PDAs in there," he said.

"Our licensing commission rules are such that we have to give assistance to elderly and disabled passengers. Perhaps the driver should have taken his keys out, so he has been a bit careless in that regard."

Mr Ahmed  said another taxi was stolen on Thursday night. He said it happened at a petrol station in Haworth Road, Girlington, while the driver was paying for fuel.

"There seems to be a spurt at the moment," he added.

Councillor Hassan Khan (Lab, Bowling and Barkerend) said: "It is a terrible thing that has happened. My sympathy goes to the lady, I hope she will be okay.

"Whoever the criminal is, we need to serious action. I hope the police will take serious action. Hopefully people in the area will have seen the criminal and will come forward with information.

"This type of thing could happen again, so we need to make sure we set an example to the community that it is not funny or a game and that we need to take these things seriously."

A spokesman for Asda said: "We are aware of this incident and we're assisting the police with their investigation."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Bradford District CID on 101, quoting crime reference 13160149006. Alternatively, ring Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.