A woman has recalled the "frightening" moment a creep followed her and a friend home on a night out in Cork city.
Nicole Ryan said she and a friend enjoyed one drink before heading home at around 1.20am on Sunday morning.
The pair were walking up Barrack Street to where they both live when a man, described as being in his 40s, began to walk in the same direction.
She said the man had asked if he could share their umbrella as the women walked home together.
Her suspicions were raised when the man attempted to flag taxis going down the street - despite walking the opposite way up the one-way street, Cork Beo reports.
The man is then said to have offered the women the chance to share a taxi with him and when the women turned down the offer, he continued walking.
While the man initially seemed to have met friends at a pub along the way, he appeared again moments later, when the women had separated.
She posted online: "As my friend walked on I stayed and waited to see her get to her estate and he shot past me and turned the corner to start following her.
"My heart sank and I was so petrified for her safety so I started following him - I was a little behind and to be honest I’m not sure what I was going to do when I got near him but I was gonna at least attempt something.
"I thought of shouting but feared that may aggravate him and make him begin running after her sooner.
"As she started to get closer to the entrance to her estate he began running after her, and I began running after him.
"By the time I got to the top of her estate she had gotten in home safely and I could see him running past her block entrance and beyond.
"I was so relieved she was safe and spent the rest of my walk home fearing he may be behind me!"
She said that her friend made Gardai aware of the incident when she got in home.
Nicole has warned other girls and women to be "really careful" out there".
She added: "If in anyway you feel uneasy and unsafe go with your gut, report him, find somebody and tell them because I don’t even want to think about what could have happened."
The Irish Mirror has contacted An Garda Siochana for comment.
