Female lone drivers have been warned to be extra vigilant when stopping on quiet or secluded roads, after a slew of horrifying attacks and car-jackings across the country.
Both the Gardaí and the AA made the appeal after a woman was forced onto the bonnet of her car between Tramore and Waterford City, assaulted and robbed in an early morning ordeal that left her "extremely traumatised".
The victim described her attacker as having an Eastern European accent.
A second attack was reported in Grenagh, Co. Cork on January 13. A good Samaritan who stopped to help a man at the roadside was held at knife-point before her car was stolen.
In both instances, an object was thrown at the woman's car, a trick that Gardaí say is becoming more and more common.
A source told the
Irish Independent:
"We get a good lot of reports of people saying something was thrown at their car or they see someone in a ditch.
"We have even had reports of staged accidents so people will stop to help. The best advice is to stay calm and keep your doors locked."
Have you been targeted in this way? Tell us where and when on Twitter @HerFamilydotie #BeSafe.
