Woman speaks of escape from stalker – was he the Bristol Groper?
The woman, who asked not to be named, spoke to the Evening Post because she wanted to warn others of the dangers of being out alone.
She said she was walking across Pembroke Road near Clifton Cathedral one night at the beginning of October when she noticed a man in the shadows.
"He was just standing around doing nothing, looking lost or like he was waiting for someone," she said.
She realised he was following her after she crossed the road and he speeded up after she quickened her pace.
She heard voices and walked as fast as she could towards them with the man close behind her.
"I was just about to cross the road when I saw him. He was not surprised, he just looked at me," she said.
"He wasn't unattractive. He wasn't good looking or bad looking, just a normal looking guy.
"He was quite young, in his early 20s I would say, with brown hair.
"I didn't look directly in his eye, but he noticed that I was going in the direction of the voices and at that point he ran past me and shouted obscenities at me."
The woman said she was not scared because she had recently completed a self-defence course.
When he started following her she ran through all her self-defence, thinking what to do if grabbed from behind.
"I tried to stay as calm as possible, because if you are scared your throat might go dry and you might not be able to scream. Obviously I was concerned, but I just headed to the voices," she said.
The woman refused to allow the incident to scare her, despite a major police inquiry to find the man who has since attacked five women in Clifton.
"I won't now wear a mini skirt and boots if I'm going to be on my own. And I will not go out alone for a while," she said.
"Women should not be restricted in any way, but they should also not put themselves in any danger because there are so many dark places around that area of Clifton.
"He verbally assaulted me, but who knows what would have happened if those people were not around?"
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