Hackham West mum Debrah Leigh fears for safety of other women after scary incident with man on Hackham West bike track

A woman has been followed by a man during a terrifying incident on a popular Adelaide walking and bike track, saying she now fears for other women.

A woman says she was stalked and intimidated by a man during a terrifying ordeal in Adelaide’s south along a popular walking trail.

Debra Leigh, of Hackham West, now fears for other women after she was followed by an unknown man “acting suspiciously” as she walked along the bike track next to Narvik Crescent.

At one point, he waited for her with his “hands over his face”, she said.

Ms Leigh, a 50-year-old single mum of eight children, said she stopped to let him walk past, but each time the man would wait for her to catch up and start following her again.

“I left my house with my dog. I live right near the Narvik Crescent bike track along the expressway which is where I normally walk my dog,” she said.

Debra Leigh in her Hackham West SA neighbourhood. Picture: Ben Clark

“I got to the T-junction of the expressway and there was a man standing there with his hands over his face and I though that was a bit funny, but I kept walking. Then my dog stopped and wanted to sniff the trees and he (the man) started walking behind me and would stop whenever I did. I felt so uneasy.

“I rang my 16-year-old son because I was only around the corner from home and he came. As soon as the man saw my son he kept walking and took off.”

The scary experience comes after several women reported terrifying, unrelated incidents where a male jogger on Linear Park, near Athlestone and Highbury, had been gesturing and speaking aggressively to others.

The man sometimes runs in his underwear.

A man has been spotted allegedly harassing women along Linear Park at Highbury. Picture: Supplied

A man has been spotted allegedly harassing women along Linear Park at Highbury. Picture: Supplied

A Paradise man was arrested and charged earlier in the week, with police alleging he verbally confronted women along the Linear Park trail.

The Advertiser first reported a horrifying incident on the popular walking track in April that left a woman fearing for her life.

Mikayla Gradara, 26, was going for her daily walk along the Linear Park trail at Athelstone at 7am on April 17, when she was intercepted by a man behaving “aggressively”.

More women have since come forward, with one saying she first noticed the man running in his underwear around Christmas but said his behaviour had become more aggressive over the past few months, forcing her to change her routine.

Ms Leigh said she filed a report over the phone with SAPOL, but a spokesperson said they weren’t aware of any such report.