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Leeds student’s bid to stop park attacks
Olivia Nash.
A Leeds student has come up with a crafty way to help make sure that students avoid becoming victims of crime.
Olivia Nash, 22, has created six menacing hooded ‘shadows’ that lurk in Hyde Park to remind students to stay safe at night.
The third year Leeds Met student designed the shadows, which stood guard at the entrances of the park, following a spate of attacks on young people in the area at the end of last year.
The graphic arts and design student from Headingley said she hoped the figures would warn young people to avoid venturing into the park on their own at night time.
Miss Nash told the YEP: “When students came back there were a lot of attacks in the Hyde Park area.
“I decided to think of something to do to get the message across that it is not safe to walk through Hyde Park on a night.
“I know a lot of people walk through there when they are drunk at night.
“The silhouettes are menacing and quite scary figures.
“If it stops one or two people from walking on their own then it has worked.”
Miss Nash claims that one of her friends was mugged in Hyde Park.
She said she that she has had a positive response to the shadows despite five of them going missing over the last week.
Miss Nash added: “When I heard about the attacks, we were just worried and I know some people didn’t want to go to university.”
The YEP reported that additional police officers patrolled the area after string of violent attacks on young people last year.
A spokeswoman from Leeds Met Union added: “Leeds Met Students’ Union acknowledges that this was a well-intentioned attempt to raise awareness of personal safety.
“However, we would emphasise the importance of campaigns to be positive, rather than potentially causing unnecessary panic or distress.
“We reiterate the need for students to be safe and to use well lit routes. “
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Weather for Leeds
Saturday 26 May 2012
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Temperature: 8 C to 21 C
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ljs
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 11:20 AMIt’s a good idea; Woodhouse Moor (as it’s actually known) does have a large amount of people walking through it every night and it is so dark it has always surprised me there is not lighting on the main routes to make it a safer place to walk.
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