There's been outrage after a Swedish thief took advantage of a man who fell on to subway tracks.

The middle-aged man was drunk and fell off the platform, hitting his head and being knocked unconscious on the way down.

The only witness to the incident, instead of going to the man's aid, jumped down on to the track and stole his valuables.

He then calmly exited the station, waving to the ticket attendant as he left, according to the Associated Press.

A train ran over the man on the tracks who was seriously injured and later had a leg amputated.

Swedish police have released surveillance footage of the incident in the hope of gaining some leads.

"To me it's incredible that one could steal or rob from somebody who is lying in such a place where you know that, if I don't do something, then this person will, in a worst-case scenario, get killed by the train that is coming. Because the train is going to come," police inspector Dan Ostman told Swedish station TV4.