Police respond after woman 'left in fear' by 'persistent' man who approached her at popular walking spot in Northampton

Police have responded after a woman was left ‘in fear’ for her safety by a ‘man with an accent’ at a popular but secluded walking spot in Northampton.

A lone female dog walker says she was followed around Harlestone Firs by a man ‘persistenly’ asking for her phone number on Tuesday at around 8am.

The woman, who says she was left ‘scared’ and ‘intimidated’ by the man, detailed her frightening ordeal on community Facebook page Spotted Duston.

The post reads: “Just a warning to ladies walking alone in Harlestone Firs. I was walking my dog on my own this morning about 8am. A tall, dark-haired man walked by me twice before following me along a secluded path. I stopped and held my dog by his collar as he was getting a bit worried. The man approached me and asked me to give him my phone number. I refused but he was quite insistent, asking me to take his number and text him instead.

"Whilst he wasn’t particularly threatening, I did feel intimidated. I told him I wasn’t interested and said my dog was very protective and would attack if he felt I was in danger. The man said, “Don’t worry about the dog, give me your number’. I insisted that my dog was getting agitated. He eventually walked off.

"I have been walking in the Firs for over three years and have never felt scared at all but today I did. Please, ladies, take note.

"This man was six-foot tall with short, dark hair wearing a grey hoodie and knee-length grey tracksuit bottoms and spoke with an accent.”

Northants Police were made aware of the incident and subsequently sent out an off-road bike patrol to provide reassurance to the public.

A police spokeswoman said: “This incident happened at about 8am on Tuesday and was reported to us at about 2pm on Thursday.

"The incident involved a man persistently asking a woman for her phone number, putting her in fear. We sent the off-road bike to patrol the area for reassurance purposes.”

Police say they have not found or spoken with the man.