Students fear 'prowler' in Sheffield after reports of man peering in windows and banging on doors at night
Young women living in student houses off Sheffield’s Ecclesall Road fear a ‘prowler’ is active in the area - hellbent on making them feel threatened in their own homes.
Students living in shared houses on Stalker Lees Road, Harland Road and Pomona Street are being plagued by the menacing behaviour by an unknown man calling at night, it is claimed.
Over a number of weekes, they have reported someone banging on doors late at night, playing pornography or the sound of screaming via a phone at their window, and following them as they walk home.
One student who moved into a first-floor bedroom in a house full of girls in July woke up one night to a man staring through her window. He had scaled the property so he could look inside, she claims.
‘I looked at the window and I saw him stood there’
She told The Star: “I moved in in July and heard about things happening to other people nearby, usually within a few days of moving in.
“I woke up one night - I’m not sure but I must have heard a loud noise - and I looked at the window and I saw him stood there.
“He had climbed the bay window on the ground floor so he could look in. I saw him clear as day.
“I was still not fully awake yet but I screamed and ran out of my room quickly. The other girls couldn’t be sure if I was having a nightmare. But when one of them went to go check she heard someone’s foot banging on the kitchen window as they climbed down.
“We ran upstairs, locked ourselves in the attic and called the police.”
The young student said officers arrived at the house in three minutes - but the unknown man was gone.
She told The Star how she felt “brushed off” by officers who she claimed had “downplayed” the terrifying experience.
“They told us they thought he was just an opportunist or a drunk man, “ she said. “I felt really brushed off.
“No one has ever been assigned to my case.
“At the time I thought maybe he was just a peeping tom, but I think he could tell it was a girl’s room in a student house. I think his intentions were more sinister.”
Now, months later the young student says she and her housemates still do not feel safe and avoid being home alone.
“For the first couple of weeks I couldn’t sleep,” she said.
“A few times when I know I’m coming home alone I’ve had neighbours come over and scout the house out first.
“They are old, creaky houses. You can hear your neighbours talk and you think it is someone in your house. You can’t tell if you heard something or are just being paranoid.”
‘Prolific and historic’
Another woman affected is Evie*, whose daughter moved to the streets around Stalker Lees Road in July. The very next day, the incidents began.
Evie told The Star: “The day after she moved in a man came hammering on her door. He came back another day playing porn outside her window.
“The front doors of these houses often lead to living rooms converted into bedrooms. These poor girls are being traumatised.
“We asked around and it’s historic and prolific. A lot of girls have very specific and similar experiences.”
Through asking her daughter’s neighbours, Evie learned of dozens of incidents of menacing behaviour in the area.
It led her to take action and form a neighbourhood watch group for residents of Stalker Lees Road through a WhatsApp group - where many more offences came to light by not just the suspected prowler but petty criminals of all kinds.
One well known story on the street is of a group of male students coming across a man hiding down an alleyway, who ran away. The next night, one of the boys was then chased by the same man wearing a balaclava and wielding a knife, it is claimed.
Further historic incidents included a man playing pornography at a girl’s doorstep to the point she moved back home, a report of a man with a knife following a girl down an alley while playing screaming noises on his phone, and numerous reports of a man hammering on doors, trying to see through gaps in curtains, and shining torches in open windows.
Petty crime is also reported in the group, including CCTV of men snooping in cars, back gardens and alleyway with torches.
Evie says she feels police do not take students seriously, and many are now “trapped” in their homes after signing 12-month tenancy agreements.
She said: “I feel young people are treated like they are overreacting.
“I’m not going to criticise police because their resources are what they are and they did increase foot patrols. But they didn’t even come out for my daughter’s case. They aren’t going to catch him by responding months after the incident.
“The WhatsApp group has shown there are prowlers and petty criminals of all sizes in the area. These young people are terrified to go out.
“My next step is to write to landlords. They make a fortune off these students and they need to update their locks and security. £50 is nothing to these companies for a doorbell camera.”
Neighbourhood patrols
The student who spoke to The Star says she feels the suspected ‘prowler’ knows when students have moved in and makes his moves during term time.
She said: “He disappeared for a couple of weeks and then incidents have started up again in September. He knows when freshers are moving in.
“To this day, we still don’t have an officer assigned to our case.
“The other day I heard something in the garden. I don’t know if it was a fox or the wind or what but I had to call someone who lives up the street to come over and check.
“None of us wants to be home alone and no one wants to go downstairs in the dark. It’s so sad, we’re not being social and are locking ourselves in our rooms.”
Inspector Nikolaus Dodsworth, from Sheffield North West neighbourhood policing team, said: “We are aware of a number of reports of a man acting in an inappropriate manner around this area of the city. We know this will cause some concern in the residents that live in the area, and we are currently investigating all reports we have received.
“A dedicated officer from our neighbourhood policing team has been allocated to these reports, and is currently working with partners such as Sheffield City Council to complete CCTV enquiries and checks to obtain any images that will help identify the offender.
“Our officers are also conducting house to house enquiries and obtaining any CCTV in the properties. As well as conducting highly visible and plain clothed patrols and operations, with officers specifically looking for people who may be acting suspiciously. Sheffield Council Sustainable Community patrols have also been arranged in the area.
“Facial recognition checks are being conducted on any images we have obtained, and we currently have active appeals for information live across the force’s social media channels.
“In addition, we are working with University of Sheffield and regularly have officers hosting crime prevention stalls in and around university buildings, with officers available to listen and offer advice where they can.
“If local residents do see anything that looks suspicious, please do continue to report it to us, so we can build on information and act accordingly.”
*Not her real name