A University student has spoken out after an attempted hijacking in the Holyland area of Belfast to warn others to be vigilant.
The 20-year-old, who wishes to remain anonymous, has been left "terrified and unable to sleep" after a masked man approached her car in the early hours of the morning.
The student had been returning home from work around 2am on Friday, March 31 when she noticed two men acting suspiciously near her vehicle.
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Speaking to Belfast Live, she said: "I was driving down Carmel Street and I was parallel parking, I could see a man hunched down beside the driver's side door of the car behind me and I didn't know if he was waiting for me to leave the car or for something else.
"I locked my door and rang my housemate when I saw him to ask whether she thought it was weird and whether I should get out and go into the house.
"As I was on the phone to her, he started walking closer to my car but I thought he was just going to go past it when he grabbed the handle and started shouting at me to 'open the f****** door' as he was holding a weapon."
She said that the man was wearing a black balaclava, a dark hoodie and orange gloves as he pointed the weapon at her window.
"I started to scream and at the same time, two of my housemates opened our front door - I revved and drove off and they ran up Carmel towards the McClay Library.
"It has left me terrified and completely shaken. I haven't been able to return to my Belfast house since and have been staying back with my parents," she explained.
Despite the stress of reliving the incident, she recognises how lucky she was to have had the sense to lock the door and check her environment before leaving the car and wants others to be aware that these types of crimes are happening in the area.
Detective Inspector Harvey said: “We received a report just before 2am that two men approached a vehicle, a black Suzuki Swift, as the driver pulled up to their property.
“The driver saw the men approach their car door, one is described as being 5’10 in height, was wearing a dark-coloured hooded top and orange and red gloves. The second man is described as also being around 5’10 in height, of slight build and wearing a light yellow and white jacket.
“One of the men demanded that the driver get out of their car before they drove away.
“The two suspects then ran away from the scene turning left onto College Park Avenue.
“Our investigation is underway and we are appealing to anyone who was in the area at the time or who may have captured dashcam footage to contact 101 quoting reference number 119 31/03/23."
Information can also be provided to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.
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