I thought ‘this is it’. My heart was pounding

BY RHIAN LUBIN, PIPPA CRERAR, LIZZY BUCHAN and DAN BLOOM THE case has struck a chord with women throughout the UK.

On Saturday thousands plan to attend a vigil to Reclaim These Streets on Clapham Common, near where Sarah went missing. Some women, including MPs, have told how they have been harassed on the streets by men... Karolina Ba, 28, entrepreneur, Edinburgh: I grew up in Poland where I was always the only black person in the room.

I was harassed and cat-called since I was a young girl. A few years ago I was working part time as a receptionist at a hostel in Edinburgh.

Once after finishing at midnight, I was walking home and a car passed me then turned and parked in front of me.

A man got out and opened the boot then started saying strange things to me. My heart was beating so fast – I thought that was it. I told him my boyfriend was waiting for me and he seemed to get spooked.

I passed him quickly, still looking behind me.

He got in the car and left and I ran home. It was the most frightening experience of my life. I never took an evening shift at the hostel after that. Nikki Kopelman, 33, translator, Cardiff: As a student, I was accosted by men on a street in Cardiff on my way home from nights out. It only ever happened if I was on my own.

The men kept “complimenting” me, then matched pace with me even if I walked faster. I turned a corner to see if they kept following and they did, so I ran for several blocks before eventually doubling back to my house. This happened more than once. Jane Kennedy, 61, magazine publisher, Wiltshire: The disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh in 1986 was the first time that as a woman, our safety and risk came on to my radar. I was working in sales at the time, visiting strangers in their homes, just like her.

It is not OK to feel unsafe, to walk in fear. Bell Ribeiro-Addy, 36, Labour MP for Streatham:

Bell Ribeiro-Addy

KAROLINA BA RECALLS TERROR ON WALK HOME