A 77-year-old Suffolk driver has warned of a potential car-jacking gang targeting women in luxury cars after she was followed home on Thursday.

East Anglian Daily Times: Pat Taylor is urging people to be careful after she was followed by a van in Haverhill which tried to make her stop.Pat Taylor is urging people to be careful after she was followed by a van in Haverhill which tried to make her stop. (Image: Archant)

Pat Taylor, of Stoke by Clare, was driving her Mercedes home from a trip to Haverhill Sainsbury’s when a white van began tailgating her vehicle and tooting at her.

She claims two young men followed her along the A1307 bypass.

Mrs Taylor turned onto the B1057 towards Helion Bumpstead in a bid to escape them.

She said: “I was so frightened I drove faster and faster, but they were still tooting and tailgating me.

“I tried to get away from them and in the end I lost them. I looked in my rear view mirror and recognised the same vehicle was following me.

“They continued to hoot at me and tried to get me to stop.”

Now Mrs Taylor, a part-time carer, believes the pair could be part of a larger problem after a friend told her of a similar incident.

“We think the idea is that the driver stays in the van, but the passenger gets out and tells you there is something wrong with your car.

“While you are distracted, the driver gets into your car and drives off,” she said.

“I want to warn others of this scheme. It was obvious what these two men were trying to do.

“I feel after my experience that it is not safe for women to stop in a quiet place.

“My message to these women is to not panic, be vigilant and drive into a smaller road if you can – it helped in my case,” Mrs Taylor added.

Mrs Taylor claims when she phoned the police to warn them of the incident she could not get through to them despite several attempts to call them.

“I can’t remember any registration numbers or any other specific details about the car as I was so frightened.

“All I know is that I saw two men in my rear-view mirror driving a large white van.

“They followed me from the bypass near Haverhill Sainsbury’s until I took a detour where they could not find me.

“I felt targeted as I was driving an expensive-looking car – even though my Mercedes is a small model.”