Kirsty Gallacher has revealed that she was assaulted by a masked man after finishing work.
The TV presenter, who is widely known for her work on Sky Sports News, took to Instagram yesterday (29 October) to reveal that she'd been physically assaulted on a street in Central London after finishing work at 7pm.
"Last night I was physically assaulted in the streets of central London walking from work to my car, the walk I do most nights," she tearfully explained in a post on the social media platform. "The streets are well lit. There were people around."
She continued: "I was walking on the pavement, and I noticed this guy, all in black, covered up, actually, just walking at me. And I'm always vigilant.
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"And he was just walking towards me, and so I moved out of the way, and then he brushed past me."
Gallacher then went on to explain that the man then turned around and kicked her 'like he was kicking a football' in the middle of a street where other pedestrians were walking.
"He kicked me in the middle of a street at about seven o'clock last night, in front of people, and I turned around and he scarpered," she added. "I'm still shocked now, and I have the bruises to prove I'm afraid. I can't quite believe what happened. I was not being provocative in any way. I was just going about my business as you do. I was just walking to my car to go back home to my family."
The 49-year-old went on to express her gratitude for several female passersby who came to her aid afterwards, but added that she was 'disappointed' in a security guard who was standing nearby and didn't intervene, which she said was 'hugely disappointing'.
"I was just there, and I couldn't actually believe that someone, a stranger, has just decided, for whatever reason, whether he's a got a problem with women, whether he's just an opportunist," she said.
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"He decided he did not like me, and he just thought, Now, give you the boot. And that is not okay. It's not okay, it's not okay."
Gallacher's ordeal comes as concerns about street crime in London are on the rise, with statistics from the Metropolitan Police revealing that reported crimes have risen by 31 per cent, while violent crime is up 40 per cent (via The Guardian).
She went on to urge her followers to be safe while out and about in the nation's capital, adding: "It’s really sad that that is what’s going on on the streets of London, and that is very real."
Brenna Cooper