A woman from Southend has been reunited with the stranger who stepped in to protect her from a threatening man during a disturbing train journey across Essex.
Lily Sheppard was travelling alone on a c2c train from Thorpe Bay to Benfleet when she realised a man was following her and acting aggressively. As the situation escalated, a young woman – a complete stranger – approached her and pretended to be a friend, helping to steer her away from the man.
The quick-thinking stranger not only struck up a conversation with Lily, pretending to know her, but also stood her ground when the man reportedly began shouting at them.
Lily later posted a public appeal to try and identify her “guardian angel”, recalling only that her name might have been Anise or Anais, and that she had curly hair and was carrying a guitar.
Your Southend shared the appeal widely to help find the brave stranger – and it worked. The mystery woman was identified as Anise Morrell.
Anise’s actions have been widely praised, especially by Lily, who described her as a “saviour” and “angel”. Speaking to Your Southend, Lily said:
“I was followed by a weird/aggressive man on the train all the way from Thorpe Bay to Benfleet when this angel of a girl came over and struck up conversation as if we knew each other. Things got scary with the man after that as he was shouting at us because she took me away from him. I needed to thank her!
“I would like to say how much it means when a stranger senses someone is in danger and intervenes! Anise was so brave, braver than I was in the situation, and I’m really grateful for her help.
“I’d also like to say how utterly disgusting it is that women are not safe anywhere. You would think travelling via train in broad daylight that you’d have nothing to worry about.
“It happens way too often and something needs to change! I’m not sure what that something is, but if even this story helps to raise awareness of these situations then that’s great.”
Many people have commended Anise’s bravery and presence of mind in the moment. While it’s a positive ending to a frightening encounter, Lily’s story also highlights the real safety concerns women can face when travelling alone.
British Transport Police Detective Chief Inspector for Public Protection and Vulnerability, Nia Mellor said:
“The way this young woman has been made to feel on her journey is unacceptable, no one should be made to feel uncomfortable by another’s actions.
“The brave girl who stepped in to help was a real life example of our bystander campaign Speak Up, Interrupt, which encourages people to step in, offering support to the person being targeted and hopefully deter the offender.
“Making the rail network a hostile place for sexual harassment and sexual offences is a key priority for the force and we are relentlessly campaigning to encourage both victims and witnesses to report to us so we can take action. Our officers work closely with the rail industry and staff to ensure that every passenger has a safe journey.
“Nothing is too small to report and sexual harassment is never your fault. Save the text number 61016 in your phone today, remember to always call 999 in an emergency.”
c2c’s Head of Revenue Protection and Security, Iain Palmer, said: “As this is an ongoing police investigation, we cannot comment further on the specific case, however our team are in touch with Lily regarding this incident, and I’d like to praise her bravery at having the courage to speak out, and thank her for doing the right thing and bringing it to our attention – as it is through reporting incidents such as these that we are able to take the necessary steps to ensure they do not happen again.
“At c2c, the safety of our passengers is of the utmost importance and everybody has the right to feel safe when they are travelling with us.
“Right now, we are focused on continuing to support Lily and fully investigate this incident, and providing the BTP with everything we can to assist in their investigation.”