Pennington resident’s warning to women and girls after man in car followed her as she walked home from Lymington

A PENNINGTON woman said she no longer feels safe walking alone after being stalked by a male motorist as she walked home from a night out.

Police have launched an investigation into the incident, in which the suspect followed the 34-year-old, who asked to remain anonymous, to the village from Lymington in the early hours last Sunday.

“My sense of safety has been completely stripped away,” she told the A&T.

The man first drove up behind her around 12.30am as she and two female friends entered the Bunny Run – a pedestrian cutting to Pennington, off Highfield, in Lymington.

After first offering them a lift, which they declined, he asked if they wanted to buy some wine, vapes or cigarettes. Again they said “no”.

“There were three of us then, so we didn’t feel intimidated in any way,” the woman recalled.

“We just thought it was some guy trying his luck with the ladies.”

However after separating from her friends in Pennington, the man drove up from ahead of her on South Street, again offering wine, vapes or cigarettes.

“I was instantly quite worried,” she said. “I thought ‘you’ve followed us here’.

“I said, ‘No, leave me alone. I’m walking home’, and I walked on into Wainsford Road.”

CCTV footage from the area showed the car – a dark coloured 2010-14 Nissan Qashqai – then turned around in the nearby Tesco Express car park to follow her.

By this time she had messaged her partner about what happened, and then sent him a voicenote as the car reappeared.

“Luckily, there were cars parked between us, so he couldn’t get close, but he was just following me,” she continued.

“I then confronted him and said, ‘What do you want, mate?’ He said, ‘Bottle of wine?’, and I said, ‘No, thank you. I’m going home’.

“He just stayed there watching as I walked off. Then, when I was far enough away, I started running.”

Reporting the “hideous” incident the following morning, she said police told her that although it was a “low-level offence”, they were concerned by the predatory behaviour.

The life-long villager wants all women and girls to be extra vigilant and take steps such as not walking alone and arranging taxis or lifts.

“I wouldn’t walk alone through the Bunny Run; I’ve always felt safe in the village. But after this, I won’t walk alone anywhere, not even to my friend’s house nearby,” she said.

“I consider myself quite a strong person and not vulnerable, but really I am quite vulnerable.

“I dread to think what might have happened if it was someone younger or more vulnerable.”

The man was described as Eastern European, medium build, with lighter coloured skin, dark hair, dark eyes and a rounded face. He was wearing a dark T-shirt.

A Hampshire force spokesperson confirmed the incident is being investigated, along with a similar one in Sway, although officers are not currently linking them.

The other incident saw a 14-year-old girl approached by an unknown man in a vehicle on Station Road between 8.20pm and 8.45pm on Wednesday 28th May.

He briefly spoke to her before driving off.

Those with information about either incident should get in touch online via hampshire.police.uk or call 101, quoting reference 44250227797 for the 25th May incident or 44250233382 for the 28th May incident.

Crimestoppers can also be contacted anonymously via crimestoppers-uk or on 0800 555 111.