A woman has shared her account of allegedly being stalked at a popular NI beauty spot with the aim of empowering other women to phone police if they feel threatened.
The woman said in a social media post that she had been walking her dog at Craigavon Lakes on Saturday at around 4pm when she first noticed the man.
She said the man was dressed all in black with a black baseball cap with white stripes on a black mountain bike.
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She said "he immediately passed me, slowing down, looking me up and down like a piece of meat.
"He did the same thing another two times back and forth within a short time glaring and I started inside to freak out."
When she continued on the path the man reportedly started to follow here "at a creep" on his bike.
The woman added that she then quickened her pace and thought she had moved away from him but he emerged from behind her again.
"After a few minutes, I heard something behind me, I turned and he was behind me, out of the bushes he had got off his bike, must have cycled around and came out through the trees and bushes and was creeping along with his bike in the bushes hunched over," she wrote.
"When I happened to turn and see him I didn’t know what to do, so I shouted for him to “bugger off and leave me alone”, there was no one around to hear.
"I yelled 'F*** off, leave me alone I’m calling the police' as I held the phone to my ear.
"He dropped to the ground and pretended to tie his lace. I quickened my pace and walked really fast and he got up to follow again."
The woman said she had enjoyed walking all her life but she had "never felt this scared and intimidated" in what she previously considered to be a "very safe place".
"As I reached a corner out of his sight I started to sprint as fast as I could whilst I called the police in a panic," she added.
"Giving them all the info I could and was supported via phone by a lovely operator. But I was alone.
"Finally I came across a lovely couple who I could have kissed when I saw, they walked me back to the centre where PSNI were waiting.
"I was so scared and in a state of shock."
She said that she hoped that by sharing the story she might be able to empower other women to phone police if they felt under threat.
"I just wanted to share my story to tell everyone to not be scared to call the police," she wrote.
"If you feel threatened, do not hesitate to phone them. I know everyone has a different situation.
"But I’m scared for other girls walking alone or running alone around the lake. The PSNI treated me with dignity, concern and kindness.
"They took it seriously and we’re going to investigate and see if they could find him. Likelihood is that they didn’t."
A PSNI spokesperson confirmed it was aware of the reported incident: "Police received a report from a woman concerned a man may have been following her while she walked her dog on Saturday 17 June.
"Police attended and spoke with the woman offering advice and guidance. No criminal offences were detected."
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