'Streetlights would make our park feel safer'

Lauren says some form of lighting in Woodhouse Moor would help

Calls for streetlights to be installed in a Leeds park are being renewed after recent reports of sexual assaults reignited a long-standing debate about student safety. As police continue to investigate the attacks, those who walk through Woodhouse Moor share their concerns.

"I wouldn't go to a park at night, especially at this time of year because it's dark at like five o'clock in the afternoon," says Lauren, who is out on a weekday morning stroll.

"Just being a woman I don't tend to go to many places at night."

Woodhouse Moor is on the edge of the University of Leeds campus and is a popular route for students walking between the city, Hyde Park and Headingley.

The current police investigation focuses on reports of three sexual assaults in the early hours of 2 October, with a man arrested as part of the inquiry.

West Yorkshire Police says it "understands the concern" of people who use the park, with neighbourhood policing colleagues providing a "visible presence" in the area.

Lauren says some form of lighting in the park would make her feel safer, adding: "Maybe a presence of some sort, a park warden or people in high vis you know you could go to."

Millie Dickinson, a second year university student who regularly uses the route, agrees streetlights would help her feel safer in the darker months.

The idea has been rejected in the past over fears lights would encourage more people to walk through the park after sunset and illuminate those using the paths.

"I know the idea is to keep people out of the parks at night, but people are still coming in here," she says.

The student says she avoids the park after dark and takes a longer route home.

"You've always got a vigilance when you're a woman, because you don't go into any dark places at night by yourself," she adds.

The park is a key route between the city centre, universities and the popular student areas of Headingley and Hyde Park

Last year, park staff and volunteers in West Yorkshire became some of the first in the country to be trained in helping to tackle the harassment of women.

The training followed a University of Leeds study calling for parks to be better designed and managed to help women and girls feel safer at all times.

Swedish exchange student Cecilia Von Platen Orwén has lived in Leeds for a month and says she feels safe in the city.

However, she has already been given words of caution from other students.

"I'm going more off what people say about specific areas," she says.

Discussing the park, she says: "It's an area I would run in but not in the evenings.

"I feel like being a girl, by yourself, in a park isn't the safest either - the lack of lighting doesn't help."

Millie Dickinson takes a longer route home to avoid walking through the park after dark

A spokesperson for Leeds City Council says: "Walking day or night should never feel unsafe and we have launched several initiatives to improve safety for women and girls.

"Tackling violence against women and girls is a key priority for our community safety partnership in collaboration with other agencies such as West Yorkshire Police.

"We are using government funding to improve the physical space in parks in consultation with women and girls, to design spaces specifically for their safety and enjoyment."

Det Insp Jenny Phillips, of the Leeds adult safeguarding unit, says: "We understand the concern that these offences have caused, and I would like to reassure members of the public that we have been making extensive inquiries.

"We would continue to urge anyone who has any information that could assist our ongoing investigation to please make contact."

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