A woman left fearing for her safety after a "creep" harassed and photographed her on a late night train journey has urged other females to seek help from bystanders.
Agnieszka Narczynska, 34, was travelling alone on a ScotRail service between Glasgow and Lanark at around around 11pm on April 4 when a male passenger began to make advances towards her, calling her "gorgeous", before taking pictures of her on his phone.
As Agnieszka became increasingly uncomfortable, she began texting and phoning a friend to deter the man from talking to her, but when he refused to back off, she took the step of approaching a group of strangers for help.
Agnieszka told the Record: “I was sitting on the train myself and there were only a few people around. I was at the back of the carriage next to the toilets and there was a guy sitting right next to me. Next thing, he started mumbling something about me being ‘gorgeous’. I didn’t make any eye contact with him, but he was staring at me.
"I was texting and phoning my friend to pretend I was speaking to my boyfriend, but then I noticed in the reflection of the window that the guy was taking pictures of me. I looked at him and he wasn’t even trying to hide it. That was probably the most creepy thing about it."
Facility management technician Agnieszka, who lives in Motherwell, feared he would follow her home when she got off at her stop so she told a group of young men who had boarded the train why she was worried. The lads offered to help Agnieszka straight away, with one telling her he had witnessed the man watching porn after talking to her.
She continued: "I went over and told these guys what had happened and they said 'Listen, you are going to make sure you are okay. We will get off at your stop and make sure he’s not following you'.
"The one of them told me he saw him watching porn on his phone."
Agnieszka said she is now frightened to travel on her own. She said the experience left her feeling "uncomfortable and helpless" but that she hoped any women in a similar situation would also ask anyone nearby for help as she thanked the young men who got her home safely.
She added: "I was really worried that the man would follow me. I felt uncomfortable and helpless and I'm concerned about travelling on my own at night now.
"But I'm grateful to the men who helped me and I want other women to know they should ask for help if they experience something like that."
Agnieszka reported the incident to ScotRail and the British Transport Police (BTP). David Lister, ScotRail's safety, engineering and sustainability director, said: “ScotRail works very closely with British Transport Police to ensure that Scotland’s Railway is a safe environment for our customers, and our own people.
“If anyone observes any inappropriate behaviour on our trains or at stations, they should contact the BTP and report those responsible.” British Transport Police have been approached for comment.
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