Reports of man exposing himself in Strood alleyway
A Strood mum was left ‘feeling sick’ when she came across a man allegedly exposing himself in an alleyway.
Amy Barradell, 20, claims to have seen a man exposing himself in an alley whilst walking with her newborn daughter.
The unknown man reportedly stood in the middle of an alleyway by Darnley Road leading to Hawthorne Road ‘with his trousers down and his genitals out’.
Amy said: “Around 12:55pm today (May 7), a middle-aged looking white man with a chubby build stood in the middle of the alleyway with his trousers down and his genitals out.
“He was looking up and down the alley. From a distance, it looked like he was doing inappropriate things.
“I’ve informed the police but they said it’s not the first report they’ve had but obviously nothing is being done.”
Horrified, the mother quickly looked for another way home to avoid the flasher.
She continued: “Because of the incident, I walked the long way back home which took me an hour. I will now never use that alley again as my daughter is my main concern.
“I want to keep her as safe as possible, so from now on I will avoid using this alley”.
Darnley Road, Strood
She is also concerned about the safety of young children who often use the alley to get to their primary school – and hopes to warn parents of teenagers living in the area.
School children from Strood Academy have also been known to use the alleyway. The secondary school have now sent a warning message to parents about the alleged flasher.
The message, labelled ‘Stranger Alert’, asked parents to make sure children avoid the alleyway and ‘seek an alternative route’.
Amy added: “It made me feel sick and very worried as I have a young family members who use that alley.
“I think there needs to be more CCTV in the local area and higher police presence.”
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No suspects have been found but the authorities are aware and ‘will act on’ if there’s new information.
A spokesperson for Kent Police said: “Kent Police has received a report that a man indecently exposed himself in an alley near Elaine Avenue in Rochester at around 1pm on Tuesday 7 May 2019.
“At present, no suspects have been identified but officers from the Medway Community Safety Unit are aware of the circumstances and will act on any further information that comes to light.”