A teaching assistant in south London has decided to sleep with a hammer next to her bed after a ‘creepy’ Uber driver showed up to her house twice to look for her.
When Amélé Sossavi ordered an Uber to transport the last few suitcases from her old home to the new one on September 20, she did not imagine that only days later she would need police protection.
The 25-year-old says what started as polite small talk with her driver about his life quickly turned uncomfortable.
He asked her if she had a boyfriend and demanded her phone number once he dropped her off at her new address.
Amélé attempted to deflect his advances by giving him a fake number – something she has done many times in the past – but only two days later she discovered a note from him he posted in her letterbox.
It said: ‘Hey it’s Habib your number didn’t work. Call me on…’ and contained his contact information.
Even though she was alarmed, the teaching assistant, who works near where primary school teacher Sabina Nessa was murdered, decided to ignore the driver’s note.
But on Wednesday, while Amélé was at work, she received a text from one of her flatmates which said: ‘Amélé your Uber driver just came to the house.’
Amélé told Metro.co.uk: ‘When my flatmate told me, I just broke down. I work at a school and was on my lunch break when I found out and a couple of my colleagues had to calm me down.‘Especially with everything that has been happening to women recently, this really freaked me out.
‘I did not even stay at home that night as I did not feel safe.
‘When I eventually went back, I had to lock all the doors and I have been sleeping with a hammer next to my bed as he now knows my address, he knows where I live.’
Terrified,
Amélé called the police and told them she was concerned about being harassed and stalked, and asked for an officer to meet her at the school.
Initially, she said that the male officer ‘did not understand the urgency of the situation’ and told her they did not have enough officers.
After ‘fighting’ to get the police to help her, a female officer went to the school and escorted
Amélé home.Later that day,
Amélé was told by police that the driver was fired by the taxi company.However, the Met have not been able to confirm this when contacted by Metro.co.uk.
Amélé added that she had a ‘very positive’ experience with the police, but she pointed out it was because female officers were on her case.The young woman also contacted Uber to tell them she received an alarming note from the driver, however, she said they did not respond until after his second visit.
Speaking about how the incident has affected her life, the teaching assistant said: ‘I am back at my house now but I just feel sick.
‘I do not feel safe and I do not think I will feel safer any time soon. I am going to start taking martial arts and self-defence classes because I just keep worrying.
‘I will also never take an Uber ever again. I actually enjoyed speaking with taxi drivers but this has made me become anti-social as it seems that having a conversation and being friendly to someone makes them think much more.’
With the night tube in London still not operating, many women turn to Uber, which according to police had recorded 48 attacks involving drivers between February 2015 and 2017.
Her ‘sickening’ story, which she shared on social media, has now prompted dozens of women to respond with their stories of horror with private taxi companies.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police confirmed they received a report of harassment and stalking on Wednesday.
They said: ‘It was reported a woman had been harassed and repeatedly contacted by a private hire driver.
‘An appointment was made to speak to the woman later the same day. The private hire driver was identified and spoken to and words of advice were issued.’
Metro.co.uk has contacted Uber for a comment.
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