A TERRIFIED woman posted live updates on Facebook as a man followed her home from a Christmas party.

Fiona Walker, 41, pleaded for help from friends on social media after she failed to get a taxi and became too scared to call the police as the stranger got closer.

6 Fiona Walker was left terrified when a man began following her home from her Christmas party Credit: Facebook

6 Fiona's Facebook messaged pleaded for help, telling her friends she was being followed by a man and was 'scared s***less' Credit: Facebook

Her garbled messages explained she was trying to get home from the party in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, and that the man was "right beside me".

The fitness instructor, who lives about five miles from the town centre in Stewarton, had been celebrating with colleagues at the Park Hotel before moving on to a nightclub on Saturday night.

She left and made her way to a taxi rank at about 1.30am but, when there were none available she started to walk.

But within moments she began to feel someone walking closely behind her.

At 2.05am she posted on Facebook: "Help - I'm trying to get home from Kilmarnock but somebody is following me and I a scared s***less [sic]".

6 The fitness instructor turned to Facebook for help after becoming scared her pursuer would hear her if she called the police Credit: Facebook

6 Friends were quick to ask her if she was OK while she tried to give them her location Credit: Facebook

Her friends quickly began commenting on the post, checking to see if she was OK and urging her to call the police, while her pal Alan jumped in the car and began scouring the streets looking for her.

Fiona, who works for Scottish Cycling, kept giving updates and her heightened terror was clear with every post.

"I'm too far out of town. Every time I slow downn he doed [sic]", she wrote.

At 2.53am she added: "He is rght besudr me [sic]" and then a minute later posted: "I am siscared u thibk ihave ginewrong way [sic]".

About 20 minutes later Fiona added in the comments: "Im ok now".

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Speaking to The Sun Online after her terrifying ordeal, Fiona said: "Every time I stopped walking he would stop and when I carried on he would too.

"I had my phone in my hand because I was going to phone a taxi when I noticed him behind me.

"But I was too frightened to ring anyone because he was so close to me and I didn't want him to hear - I didn't know what he was going to do.

"It was the panic and just the automatic instinct to keep walking home that made me carry on."

Her friend Alan who came to her rescue and he wrote on the post afterwards: "The guy ran off when I arrived.

"I drove on with Fiona to turn at the roundabout and he continued walking fast with one hand over the side of his face.

"Taxi is a must on these nights out. Got that Fiona Walker!! [sic]".

6 One of her friend says he is out looking for her while another urges her to call the police Credit: Facebook

Fiona said that she had tried to rationalise that the man might have been "nice" and trying to see that she got home safe, but said it was after reading Alan's comment that she believes it was more sinister.

Alan, a retired newspaper editor, told The Sun he saw Fiona's Facebook post about three minutes after she wrote it and jumped straight in his car.

"I know the area really well and I was up and down all the streets I could think she might be, then I drove to her house and saw it was in darkness," he said.

"I'd been driving about for about 45 minutes when I checked the Facebook post again and it someone said she was on the main road out of Kilmarnock towards Kilmaurs.

"I went up and down the road a couple of times and there she was on the other side of the road looking visibly distressed and this man could've been no more than 2ft behind her.

"As soon as I pulled up he bolted across the road back towards the town but was covering his face like he knew he was in the wrong.

"Fiona was in a state and at first she wouldn't even get in the car - she was all over the place. I got out and she eventually recognised me so I got her in the car and told her to notify all her friends on Facebook she was safe."

6 Shortly after 3am, Fiona tells friends she is OK while her friend Alan, who came to her rescue, claims the man ran off shielding his face Credit: Facebook

She added that she has received several comments since the incident on Saturday night asking why she posted on Facebook rather than calling police.

"I hadn't thought to call the police - at the time I was too frightened," Fiona said.

"My mum and friends said afterwards that I should have called them but I didn't want him to hear.

"Thank God my friend Alan is an insomniac and was reading my Facebook posts."

Fiona said the whole ordeal has left her shaken but she is determined not to let it defeat her.

She said: "I had left my car at the hotel that night and the plan was to cycle back in the morning and get it.

"I did but I felt so uneasy about going back down the same road even in broad daylight.

"I don't really go out very much so for this to happen has really shaken me.

"I've got another work Christmas party coming up and I already feel a bit apprehensive, but I know my colleagues will support me."

Fiona added: "I don't want people to feel like they can't walk home.

"I've been walking home on my own for years, especially when I was a student, and it's ridiculous that a woman can't walk anywhere by herself - where do you draw the line?

"But it is important to have a contingency plan and knowing who you can text at that time of night and what you should do if that situation arises."

Fiona said that she has also received a message from a woman who claims a similar incident happened to her when she left Kilmarnock town centre the night before.

Fiona reported the incident to Police Scotland and will meet with officers this week.

A police spokesman said: "When planning a night out, stick with friends, charge your mobile and think about how you will get home safely.

"If using a private hire, book it in advance and use a licensed taxi if you are unable to arrange for family or a friend to pick you up. On no account leave with a stranger."

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