A woman says a she was approached by a stranger at a bus stop who cut off her hair while she waited.
Emma Clark, 32, was waiting at a bus stop on Oxford Road in Manchester at around 10.20pm last Friday (8 April) when a man appeared and started to act ‘really weird’.
She said: "I was sat at the bus stop when it happened. I was sat there looking to my right waiting for the bus to come.
"I felt a snip sensation and at first I thought a bee had buzzed past me or something like that.
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"I quickly turned my head to the right, but he was on the left hand side of me. I think he has put his arm around me and came at me from the other side. He was very close to me and had an umbrella. I felt another catch of my hair then I saw him - he was waving his umbrella around. I got up and walked away.
"He kept acting really weird. He was shaking with his umbrella. He was alone and wearing a rain mac. I got on the bus and texted my boyfriend."
Emma, who is a hairdresser, said although she heard a snipping sound, she didn’t realise what had happened until she got home.
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She explained: "I tied my hair in a bobble when I got home. I have got quite long hair and it is very thick. I started to feed the baby and noticed a bit of my hair hanging out. I pulled it and lots of my hair just fell out.
"In the morning the first thing I did was report it to the police. They said they would check CCTV. I posted it on Facebook and had another girl message me to say the exact same thing happened to her.
"When she reported it to the police, the police told her there was another girl as well who said a man claimed his umbrella got caught in her hair. It is an awful thing. I have already had weird things happen to me on buses and now I will never, never get on a bus again. I feel really vulnerable."
Greater Manchester Police say they have launched an investigation into the incident, which is being treated as an assault. A second similar assault is also being investigated.
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In a statement, Greater Manchester Police said: "Police received a report of an assault on Oxford Road in Manchester city centre.
"Initial enquiries suggest that the victim was approached by an unknown male who has then cut off some of her hair before walking away. Enquiries are ongoing.
"Police are also investigating a second similar report, although this report cannot be confirmed as being linked."
Claire Reid