She realised the street had become deserted. She quickened her pace; so did he. 

She started running; so did he. 

What began with an ‘‘eerie’’ feeling of being watched ended in a fully fledged sprint to safety for Emma Simmons last Thursday night, when a brazen stranger chased her through a section of Wollongong’s CBD, only metres from the city’s police station.

The Woonona 30-year-old said it was only her habit of walking with her car keys at the ready that spared her from an unpleasant encounter with the man.

She was able to get inside her car seconds before her pursuer reached her driver’s door.

She said he never spoke; she doesn’t know what he wanted. 

She watched him lift his hand to try her car door, then put it back at his side when he heard the click of the locks. 

He walked a few steps west along Market Street, then turned and looked at her through the car windscreen.

‘‘He looked directly at me,’’ Ms Simmons told the Mercury. 

‘‘It was almost like he was extremely annoyed that I’d done what I’d done. He could see I was petrified. I couldn’t start the car, I was shaking so bad.’’

The Woonona 30-year-old had finished an appointment in the mall about 7.20pm and walked uphill along Church Street towards Market Street, where her car was parked about 30 metres from Wollongong police station. 

She passed two police officers on the way, but seconds later the street was empty of foot traffic or cars.

She noticed the man walking down the hill on the opposite side of the street, then he stopped, changed direction, crossed the street and was behind her.

His hair was dark blonde; he wore a dark cap, a plain white T-shirt, adidas shorts and runners. Ms Simmons thinks his eyes were hazel. He had a medium build and no facial hair or visible tattoos.

‘‘It was such an eerie feeling,’’ Ms Simmons said.

‘‘He’s seen me and he’s crossed the road. He kept looking around, like he was looking for somebody. 

‘‘I could feel he was getting closer and closer so I started to speed up; so did he.’’

After reporting the matter to a Wollongong police officer who came to her aid while she was still in her car, Ms Simmons believes the man could have been after her handbag, which she carried on her wrist, rather than close to her body.

She said the experience had validated her long-held habit of carrying her car keys in her hand, and had been an exercise in ‘‘trusting  your gut instinct’’.

‘‘If something doesn’t feel right it usually isn’t right,’’ Ms Simmons said. 

‘‘I was extremely lucky that I trusted what I was feeling.’’