This is the shocking moment a street lamp toppled onto an elderly woman after a drunken man leaned on it.

CCTV footage shows a man, appearing unsteady on his feet, leaning against the lamp post, which suddenly collapsed onto a woman walking past in the town centre of Nowy Targ, Poland.

The grandmother, 69, was reportedly on her usual route to pick up her grandson from preschool when she was struck by the falling structure, knocking her to the ground and causing head injuries.

Nearby shop workers rushed to help her before emergency services arrived on May 15.

A shopkeeper who helped the victim said: 'I was one of the first to run to help her. I tried to bandage her. Blood was pouring from her head like from a tap.

'I asked how many fingers she could see. She said two. I asked if she could feel her legs. She said yes. She was responsive, but her eyes were darting left and right.

'We laid her down, stopped the bleeding, and waited. It all looked terrible.'

The distressed pensioner received stitches for her head wound and was later discharged from the hospital.

The 50-year-old man who leaned on the post also fell and was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Witnesses reported that the base of the lamp post appeared corroded, raising concerns about the maintenance of street infrastructure.

One resident said: 'What happened here was like a scene from a disaster movie. First, everything shook, literally as if there was going to be an earthquake.

'Then I saw the fire brigade, police, and ambulance, followed by journalists, camera flashes, and TV crews. Tents were set up, the passage was closed. A nightmare.'

Local authorities have launched inspections of other street lamps in the area, while police continue to investigate the circumstances of the incident.