A WOMAN who was followed by a man in a town centre has warned others to be safe.

A Darlington woman, who would like to remain anonymous, is warning others to be careful when in the town centre after man approached her wife, asking if she was alone and where she lived, before following them both.

The coupled headed to Poundland, High Row, at 7pm on June 16, where one waited outside as the other went into the shop, due to social distancing.

A man sat by the waiting woman and began questioning her before her wife returned and they left for Tesco, then home.

Crossing the Skerne, by the fire station, they noticed the man following them – he was "less than two-metres away just staring at us".

The couple questioned the "creepy" man, who "mumbled that he had just come out of prison", and, while concerned about antagonising him, decided to detour from the journey home and head to the police station.

They saw the man wait in an alley, "watching us to see where we were going", before heading up Yarm road.

One of the women, who was mugged a few years ago, said: "I'm lucky my wife was there, if I was alone I would have just collapsed to the floor crying. Now I'm worrying about going back into town.

"I just want people to be careful. Anyone in town alone, just don't talk to anyone."

Incident lasted around half an hour.