Drive-through video shows Detroit after dark

A video filmed by a woman driving through Detroit at night has provided a disturbing snapshot into what goes on after dark in America’s most dangerous city.

The two-minute clip shows prostitutes dancing and lifting up their skirts, gangs drinking at bonfires lit by the side of the road and a man being run down by a car.

It’s a glimpse of the lawlessness that has overtaken what was once one of the United States’ most prosperous cities.

After struggling for decades to rebound from the decline of the auto manufacturing industry the “Motor City” was declared bankrupt in 2013.

For three years running, the FBI has named Detroit as the city with the highest rates of violent crime

The drive-by video, which was posted to Twitter over the weekend and has been shared thousands of times, shows dimly-lit streets which have taken on a sinister quality.

Two prostitutes gyrate and compete for the attention of passing motorists, while around the corner a bottle shop appears to be doing a roaring trade.

In a sudden burst of violence a white hatchback speeds into the car park of the bottle shop and mows down a man.

A woman rushes to the check the man is okay and he gingerly stands as the car speeds off.

Detroit is the 18th largest US city but its residents have been steadily abandoning it in droves.

A quarter of its population left the city between 2000 and 2010, leaving behind large swathes of deserted, decaying homes and buildings.

The video has divided opinion online with some insisting the clip shows only a small portion of the city, while others joined in lamenting Detroit’s downfall.

“I live in Detroit you pick some of the worst areas to cruise thru to make your point. Some areas are to be avoided duh!!” local Greg Fedderson tweeted in response to the video.

“Once the mecca for American manufacturing is now a third-world s--- hole. This is the Democratic Party results in a nutshell,” another tweet read.