Television presenter Laura Jackson has revealed she was followed by a man while making her way home in London on Tuesday evening (8 November).
The 36-year-old posted about her experience to Instagram, explaining that she had been at an awards ceremony before deciding to “do the economical thing” and get the London Underground home, adding it’s a route she does many times.
“Unfortunately last night I was followed by a really strange man,” Jackson continued.
“That feeling when someone’s watching you on the train, gets off at your stop, walks closely next to you and waits for you to walk ahead to follow you.”
She added that as she sensed something was off, she called her sister and walked back to the station.
“I’ve never felt so sure something would have happened,” Jackson continued. She added that a Transport for London worker offered to walk her home before her sister came to pick her up.
“I (was) spooked by my own shadow in my own home all night - something I’ve never experienced,” Jackson explained.
“It’s absolute BULLS**T now it’s winter we don’t feel safe to walk home at night. I honestly believe my morning would have been different had I not headed back to the station.”
Jackson’s post prompted a wave of comments including from food writer Rosie Birkett and model and writer Charli Howard.
She later posted on her Instagram Stories thanking the people who had messaged her.
She added: “So many messages from (mainly) women telling me they don’t feel safe walking around in winter.
“It’s absolutely bulls*** that now after 4/5pm we potentially have to put an end to anything social.”
Data released by the Office for National Statistics in 2021 found that one in two women feel unsafe walking alone after dark in a quiet street near their home, compared to one in seven men.
It also found that 44 per cent of women aged 16 to 34 have experienced catcalling, whistles, an unwanted sexual comments or jokes in the last year, while 29 per cent reported they felt they had been followed.
Additional reporting by PA.
