A YOUNG female driver has spoken of her shock after a man opened her car door and demanded her keys as she parked outside a town supermarket.

Dave Gooderham

A YOUNG female driver has spoken of her shock after a man opened her car door and demanded her keys as she parked outside a town supermarket.

The motorist, who does not want to be named, praised the actions of a member of staff at Sudbury's Tesco store after she came to her aid to prevent the situation escalating.

The 23-year-old woman had parked her car outside the supermarket on Tuesday night when the man suddenly opened her car door and asked for her keys.

The motorist, who lives in Sudbury, refused to hand them over and called out to a member of staff who shouted at the man. He then ran from the car park in the Woodhall Business Park.

The victim, who said she had seen the man standing at the corner of the car park when she arrived, said: “As I turned my lights off, the driver's side door was opened and this man lent in and said 'give me your keys'.

“It was pretty scary. I didn't let him have the keys and then I shouted at this staff member walking by. She didn't know what was going on at first but I said 'this man wants my keys and he won't go away'. She threatened to call security and he ran off.”

The motorist joined police in praising the actions of the staff member, who has not been named, after she rushed to the woman's aid.

“If that lady had not stopped, who knows what might have happened,” the driver said. “You just don't expect anything like that to happen at your local supermarket. I am just relieved - I have never been as scared as that before.”

A spokesman for Suffolk police said: “We would not want anyone to put themselves in danger but on this occasion, the actions of the member of staff deterred the offender and also reassured the victim.”

The man, who police say appeared to be drunk, has been described as white, 5ft 8ins tall, of medium build, in his 20s with a shaved head and a beard. He was wearing a black coat, a grey polo neck shirt, light blue jeans and white trainers.

Anyone with information about the incident, which happened at about 7.15pm on Tuesday, should call Pc David Murphy on 01284 774100 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.