Teenage footballer tells of terrifying moment she feared a man would 'grab her from car' as she walked home after prom night

Brooke Newton - a first team player for Middlesbrough WFC – said she was walking home from a house party at around 7.30am on Thursday, July 11, when a car followed her.

The 16-year-old said she saw a man staring at her from the window of a grey jaguar car window as she waited at the barriers of Hartlepool train station and then saw the car speed past her before pulling in at the side of the road.

She said: “He pulled in waiting for me to walk past and I saw he had his hand out the window of the passenger side as though he was going to grab me.

“So I went down a side street and as soon as he saw me do that he met me at the other side of the street.

“I turned back and he then swerved the car on Lynn Street and then sped up.

“I panicked and ran the opposite way towards Church Street.

“I went into the taxi firm Twenty3 Taxis and told them what happened and they called the police.”

Brooke was shaken but unhurt and was taken home in a free taxi.

A talented footballer, Brooke played for Sunderland Academy Girls and Teesside Girls RTC, before signing with Middlesbrough WFC.

Now she says she had lost her confidence: “I still feel shook up about it now.

“I am scared to walk the streets alone and I have been down in training sessions.”

Dad Peter Newton, 51, said: “She now has an issue with her confidence but I have been trying to reassure her that these types of incidents are rare.”

In a bid to make her feel safe Peter is fundraising to pay for driving lessons so that Brooke doesn’t have to walk.

A Cleveland Police spokeswoman said: “Cleveland Police received a report of the incident involving a suspicious vehicle, however, no arrests have been made.

“There have been a number of inquiries which have, at this stage, all proved negative.

“There have been no other similar reports.”

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