It was dark, around 11pm. My car was at the back of the car park. It had been full when I parked but it was empty now. I had my handbag on my shoulder with my ‘knight’ zippered inside but the pin cord was in my hand. I heard a noise and started to turn. He went by me very quickly but it seemed like slow motion. He grabbed my bag and in doing so pulled out the pin. The alarm inside was so loud that three steps further he dropped the bag and kept running. He must have been scared. The noise from the bag attracted the attention of a couple who had just stumbled into the car park. They came to help and called 999. I’ll never park there again….and I’ll never go out without my ‘knight’.
- Susan P, Jan 2005
The minicab I’d ordered to pick me up at Heathrow was late and I was annoyed. After phoning them, the driver eventually showed. I didn’t like the look of him but reserved judgement. On the way home, he took a route I didn’t know. I started getting nervous, thinking he was going to go down an isolated road, pull over and rape me. He kept looking at me in his mirror. All my luggage was in the boot but my alarm was next to me in my handbag. I pulled it out and made a plan. I’d pull the pin and put it next to his head, then grab the wheel. We’d hit something minor and I’d leap out and run. I felt empowered. I stared back at him in the mirror. Something changed in him. And something changed in me. Perhaps I was just being paranoid. But I felt ready to defend myself. He never did make a wrong turn and dropped me home safely. But having Damsel’s personal alarm made me realise that if I had been challenged, I probably would’ve got away unharmed.
– Juliana H, May 2004
I love putting my jewellery in a safe can when I’m away. I don’t stress about being burgled on the holiday that way. The only problem is remembering which can I put it in when I get back. But I’ve always found it in the end!
- Barbara C, June, 2005
