AN ANGRY construction worker has been slammed after he kicked food delivery robots and TikTok viewers felt sorry for "the little guys."
Footage shows the man dressed in an orange high-vis suit repeatedly kick the innocent little robot into bushes at the side of the pavement.
Outraged social media users rushed to the defence of the 'grocery badgers' that deliver Co-op food to nearby residents in Cambridge.
Other AI-guided motors also travelled alongside but struggled on the icy pavements.
People flooded the comment section with sympathy for the food delivery robots.
One person posted: "Awww poor robots leave them alone they are only trying to do our jobs."
Another wrote: "I like these little guys, always give me a chuckle when I see them navigating obstacles."
"Is it just me or do others feel bad when something happens to these guys," a third added.
Someone else even suggested "the man who kicked it should have a fine."
But other people poked fun at the situation, "where are their winter tyres?" they asked, amid the snowy weather.
"Just need better tyres and they will be solid for next run," a second commented.
Ironically, a Deliveroo rider was also spotted in the video, watching the robot cross the road at a set of lights.
TikTok users pointed out: "Deliveroo driver looking at their job getting taken away."
"Deliveroo guy giving them evils," another joked.
A spokesperson for Starship said: "The overwhelming majority of residents in Cambridge have really taken in our robots as part of the community and we're proud to serve them.
"On this occasion, our little robots seem upset by this unfriendly human’s behaviour, but it’s all part of their learning process out there in the big wide world, and they’ve got a long memory.”
But other people were not so supportive of the grocery badgers and left comments expressing their frustration.
One said: "They're taking up a big portion of the sidewalk, they're motorised vehicles, they really should be on the road."
"Or, and hear me out, we give a person a job to do this delivery for a reasonable wage, just a thought," someone else posted.
Another claimed: "If the temperature is freezing the battery becomes flat and they stop in the middle of the street impairing traffic."
A spokesperson for Co-op said: "In terms of continuing with the Robots, they are going from strength to strength and we have just expanded the service into Leeds area, as they are extremely popular with our customers where they provide a quick and convenient shopping delivery service in all the locations we operate them in.
"There are no plans to stop using them."
Katie Price's son Harvey smashes window of her Mucky Mansion after a scare
Scott McTominay slammed by animal charities for playing tug-of-war with tiger
Full list of postcodes due £50 cold weather payments direct to bank accounts
Rishi plans to regulate Netflix after fury at Harry & Meghan documentary 'lies'
©News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. “The Sun”, “Sun”, “Sun Online” are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers’ Limited’s Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. View our online Press Pack. For other inquiries, Contact Us. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO)
Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/