A YOUNG woman has told how she fought off a would-be thief after being targeted in her car in broad daylight in Belfast city centre.
Jade Mills became involved in a "tug-of-war" struggle as the man attempted to steal her handbag from the passenger seat.
The 23-year-old, from Carrickfergus, said she was sitting in her Honda car at College Square North waiting for a friend when she noticed a man "walking up and down" beside it.
She said as she went to check her phone, her passenger door was opened and a hand reached for her bag.
"He had his hand on one of the handles and my initial reaction was to just grab the other handle and it was like a tug-of-war. It felt like it went on for 10 minutes but I'm sure it was a matter of seconds," she said.
Ms Mills, who works as an environmental auditor at the Royal Victoria Hospital, said she was shouting at the man to leave her alone.
"It continued and the wind must have blown the door. The door ended up being wide open, so whether he saw someone coming or more traffic coming, I was able to pull it off him and he just got up and ran."
The attempted theft, which happened at around 1.30pm on Friday, "terrified" her.
"I didn't know if there were more of them. My arm was killing me with the pulling. He could have had a weapon, he could have pulled a knife on me, anything," she said.
The 23-year-old also appealed to other women to be aware when they are alone in the car.
"I would say to other women to think where they are parking. Just to be aware of their handbag, put it out of sight. I would say lock your doors."
