Horrific footage has emerged of a man bashing and then locking a woman in a car boot.

Warning: This video contains graphic footage of violence and may be triggering for some viewers.

The Sun has released terrifying footage of the moments a man beats his wife and then locks her in the back of a boot.

Although not yet verified, the video shows the Chinese man initially slapping his wife and trying to force her body down into the boot at a petrol station.

As she tries to fight back, you can hear people in the background shouting, although no one appears to act.

More and more people begin to gather around as the woman tries to fight back, with the man persistently slamming the woman’s head into the boot.

After 50 seconds, the man viciously slaps the woman and he crushes the boot down on top of her.

From there, he seemingly walks off for a few seconds, then climbs in his car.

When the footage ends, the woman is still being held in the back of the car.

Despite the crowd gathering around the watch the brutal incident, no one intervenes at all. Another woman tries to speak to the man but at no point in the video do people try to restrain him or save the woman locked in the car.

The most the onlookers ever said was "don't hit her" as she tried to fight back.

The video was originally released on Weibo, a Chinese social media channel, and the incident allegedly took place in Cangzhou in the Hebei province.

It has since been shared by thousands of people, and both the man and the bystanders who appeared to do nothing have been severely criticised.

One reader wrote, "And the onlookers did just that, look on. They are just as cowardly and as guilty as the beater! Surely they can be charged with something? All wrong..."

If this post brings up any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. It doesn’t matter where you live, they will take your call and, if need be, refer you to a service closer to home.