Mayor was chased by 'lone man' on her way home in Shrewsbury and had to sprint to get away
A mayor has told of how she was chased through a park on her way home.
Councillor Elisabeth Roberts was speaking as Shrewsbury Town Council looked at the Safer Parks for Women and Girls initiative.
The recreation and leisure committee agreed on Wednesday to consider how the Town Council might ensure The Quarry Park is as safe as it can be for women and girls.
Across Britain the Safer Parks Consortium is working with councils on design to make parks feel safer.
Councillor Roberts said: "This is quite personal for myself as when I was younger I was followed across the Quarry by a man.
"I used to go swimming and on my way home I was chased by a lone man. I really had to sprint to get away and I almost flagged down a car."
She said she wanted to see better lighting in the Quarry and over the pedestrian bridge.
Councillor David Vasmer said it was wrong that women should restrict their lives because they felt unsafe.
In the Safer Parks guide, the mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, said: "We know that women don’t feel as safe as men in all public spaces. This affects their ability to move around freely, reduces opportunities for work and leisure and denies them the huge physical and mental health benefits that parks can bring.
"In Britain, women are three times more likely than men to feel unsafe in a park during the day, and parks feel less safe than public transport, residential areas and high streets.
"This is worse after dark, when as many as four out of five women in Britain say that they would feel unsafe walking alone in a park, compared to two out of five men."
