A dog walker from Ashford is raising awareness with fellow walkers after she was approached by a strange man.

The incident happened last month as Shona Isle, 23, took her dog Muriel on a walk on the fields near to the Ashford Rugby Club.

She said: “It was about 7.40 am, so quite early in the morning. There’s a basketball court in one of the fields and a children’s play area; I was sat on a bench near to it as my dog was running around.

“There was a man in the field also walking his dog and then when I turned around I saw that a man had come out of the bushes.

“He looked to be around 30 to 40 years old and was wearing a really odd assortment of clothes that looked like they had been found - he had really baggy, combat trousers and then a top that looked too small for him.

Shona continued: “He was stood looking around; I think to make sure nobody was there, but I didn’t think anything of it until he started walking towards me.

“I noticed that the other dog walker had gone; I just felt a bit funny so I called over my dog and got up and started walking away.

"You don’t expect things like this to happen to you in broad daylight" - Shona Isle

“He started walking faster towards me, so I picked up the pace. Then it looked like he started to run so I just ran as fast as I could into the small field and towards my home.”

Shona managed to get home safely and rang the police to let them know of the incident; two days later Shona showed a PCSO the area where it took place.

Since then her stepdad has been back to the fields and found signs that somebody has been living in the bushes.

“My stepdad found a makeshift camp filled with rubbish, and there’s been an attempt to make a shelter with chicken wire and wood.

“Although we now think that the camp has been moved to an area closer to the pond. My mum’s now seen some men in the field too and now she won’t walk the dog without my stepdad

“I’ve lived here for eight years so I know the area really well.” said Shona

“Its a bit dodgy at night and you sometimes get kids hanging around but you don’t expect things like this to happen to you in broad daylight.

“I just want to warn people and for them to report anything if they see something suspicious.”

A police spokesman said: “We were called to a report of a man acting suspiciously in a field off Willesborough Road, Ashford.

“No offences were alleged but it was reported that the man may have been living in the woods.

“A police community support officer visited the location and found no evidence of this but provided safety advice to the woman who reported the incident.

“A relative of the woman contacted us on Monday, August 14 to again report concerns about people whom he believed were living in the woods.

“Officers will be returning to the area and carrying out enquiries in relation to this.”