GYM PEST CASES RISE BY A THIRD

Safety fear as 173 women targeted in 2023

- SASKIA ROWLANDS

PREDATORY men are increasingly targeting women at the gym with figures showing incidents surged by more than a third in a year.

The number of women harassed, assaulted or stalked at fitness centres last year was 173 -40% more than in 2022.

Stalking accounted for half of reports, while sexual assaults made up more than a quarter, according to police data this newspaper obtained under Freedom of Information laws.

London's Met Police recorded 92 offences in 2023 with 65 women harassed, 12 assaulted and eight stalked.

And forces in Northamptonshire and Cleveland came close behind, with a combined 36 reports in the same year.