A pair of young Dublin sisters have issued a warning to fellow walkers after they were followed by a suspicious young man.
The mysterious figure even approached the sisters after tracking them for a long period during a late-night walk in the Fairview area.
One of the women, who wished to remain anonymous over fears of a repeat incident, told Dublin Live the whole ordeal was "very scary".
She said: "I'm telling this story to warn girls to be more vigilant walking home at night.
"My sister and I were followed over the weekend by a tall, slim man dressed all in dark clothes.
"He followed us from around Annadale Drive and asked to use our phones to check his Snapchat.
"I was walking my sister home. He seemed to come out of nowhere near the C&T superstore and passed us but then he took a sharp turn and came right behind us and started to ask if we had a phone that he could use. I said no and we picked up our pace. I had my keys in my hand and I kept shaking them around so he could hear what I was doing."
The frightened young woman said that the sketchy figure only eased off their path when they faked that they were meeting someone near Philipsburgh Avenue.
She continued: "He only stopped following us after we turned the corner and pretended to see our dad and said very loudly 'ah there he is up there'.
"I said it loud enough so he would hear, hoping that he would think we were meeting our dad or husbands - any man really, it saved us.
"That was when he left us alone."
She told Dublin Live that she wanted to let the public know about the incident as this technique could be a smart way of losing a potential predator.
"We feel it is important for the girls in the area to look out for this sort of behaviour. And if I can give them any tips on how to protect themselves, that's a bonus."
She added: "In an ideal world any women or girl should be able to walk around their local area in peace but unfortunately we are not there yet."
