Sheffield mum harassed by man during walk with kids ‘beyond disgusted’ with police's lack of response

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A mum-of-two has told of feeling ‘absolutely devastated’ after a frightening experience with a man while on a walk in Sheffield - and receiving no assistance from the police.

Emily Beacher, aged 31, was on a walk on the morning of Friday, October 25, at Moor Hall Reservoir with her dog and two children, aged one and three.

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She was pushing her youngest in a buggy along a road while her eldest was on a scooter when a man with a dog walked towards them.

The man then reportedly took out his phone and began taking photos of the mother, and was talking incoherently, she said.

This photo was taken by Enmily close to the frightening incident at Moor Hall Reservoir, SheffieldThis photo was taken by Enmily close to the frightening incident at Moor Hall Reservoir, Sheffield
This photo was taken by Enmily close to the frightening incident at Moor Hall Reservoir, Sheffield | Submitted

When he walked past the family, Emily turned around and realised he had begun following her.

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The teacher from Deepcar said: “I was instantly like, I need to call the police now.”

He began jogging towards them, shouting, circling around the buggy, and taking photos once again.

“I was on the phone to the police while this was happening,” Emily said. “I was telling this man to stop taking pictures of me, and to leave me and my children alone.”

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The man did eventually back away, and the mum walked in the opposite direction, away from her parked car, while still on the phone to the police.

The call operator asked the mother if she could still see the man, and when she no longer could, he told her that the police would not be attending the scene.

‘I'd never felt scared like it before’

She said: “I’d never rung 999 before, and I just presumed that someone would come or would be on the way to help us.

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“When he said that no one was coming, I was quite scared and upset. I just kept thinking about all these awful stories in the media at the minute of women and children getting attacked.

“I did ask a couple of times if someone could just escort me and the kids back to the car - I didn't want anything else. But because they said there was no immediate danger there wouldn't be anyone coming.”

The mother has since lodged a complaint with South Yorkshire Police over the way the call was handled.

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Emily claims that three days after the incident, she was told in a telephone call with the force that her case had been closed, without a statement ever being taken.

South Yorkshire Police told The Star “enquiries are currently ongoing”.

The mum, from Deepcar, said she is 'beyond disgusted' with the police's response to the incident. The force said a complaint submitted is being reviewed by their professional standards department.The mum, from Deepcar, said she is 'beyond disgusted' with the police's response to the incident. The force said a complaint submitted is being reviewed by their professional standards department.
The mum, from Deepcar, said she is 'beyond disgusted' with the police's response to the incident. The force said a complaint submitted is being reviewed by their professional standards department. | Stock image

She added: “I was absolutely devastated. I'd never felt scared like it before, he could have done anything. I just think, how have you not responded to this? I couldn't believe it.

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“We were on a road at the time, but there’s a lot more secluded walks that we do. I'm forever now going to think ‘should I be doing this?’, because what happens if I'm in this situation again in a more secluded place, because the police aren't gonna come and help me.

‘Why would I ever ring an emergency line again?’

“In future, why would I ever ring an emergency line again? I'm going to have to ring someone who's close by who can come and assist me, because they're not going to.”

South Yorkshire Police said: “We were called on Friday, October 25 at 10.51am to reports of a man acting suspiciously at Moor Hall Reservoir, Sheffield.

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“Officers did not attend due to the caller advising that the man had left the area, however, our enquiries are currently ongoing and officers have been in touch with the victim to progress their investigation.

“A formal complaint has been received in relation to the incident and is currently being reviewed by our professional standards department.”

The Star and our sister titles are running a campaign, called Silent Crime, where we are looking at issues residents are choosing not to report, leaving victims and communities suffering in silence.

We are also looking at cases where incidents are reported but no action is taken.

We aim to present our findings to the Prime Minister.

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