Two tourists have revealed the horror moment when a taxi driver forced his way into their hotel room and tried to kiss them after a night out.
Samantha Johnson was put into a headlock by the dangerous predator before pal Saorla van Heerden “forcefully ripped him off”.
The 20-year-olds tried to reason with the man by asking what was going on, but he was “adamant” and wouldn’t leave them alone.
After shouting and pleading for him to leave, they eventually managed to push him out of their room and lock the door.
“I ended up throwing up and Sam passed out on the bed,” Saorla told Need To Know.
“It was a bit of a blur, I think we were a bit in shock about what happened.”
The pair, from Belfast, were in Albufeira, Portugal, on a last-minute getaway when the horror unfolded.
Saorla, a student, said: “We were out on the strip on our first night when Sam was feeling really tired, so we decided to get a taxi home.
“We went up to a taxi and the man inside told us it was cash only.”
Saorla volunteered to go into the hotel at the end of the journey to get the cash to pay for the trip, while Sam offered to stay in the taxi until her friend got back “to show we weren’t going to run off”.
But suddenly, the situation turned from friendly to frightening.
Sam, an apprentice, said: “I was sitting in the taxi just having a casual conversation with him, when he decided to get out of the car. I was a bit confused.
“He came round and opened my door, and without saying a word, he took me out of the taxi and put me in a headlock.
“I was in a lot of shock and kept asking if he was OK.
“He dragged me round to where Saorla had gone to our flat to get the cash.”
When Sam saw the man walking towards her with her friend in a headlock, she was stunned.
She said, “I can’t remember what was said, but he carried Sam into the room and then tried to kiss her.
“I forcefully ripped him off, but he kept coming back to her – I had to put my hand in between their faces at one point.
“I started shouting – telling him to get off and get out – but he was pretty adamant on kissing one of us.”
The man also tried to kiss Saorla, who was shouting at him to leave.
Sam said, “At that point, we both pushed him out the door and locked it.”
The pals have shared their story of the incident on TikTok, where it has gathered 93,200 views.
In the clip, Sam can be seen speaking to the camera as she tells their story.
The women said they chose to speak out in an effort to raise awareness and offer support to others who may have experienced similar situations.
Sam added, “We’re going to order Ubers from now on because they seem like the safer option.
“And we lock the doors at all times.
“I was not as affected by the event as Saorla was.
“She was definitely more concerned.
“We definitely were worried the same guy would pop up again – I remember scanning every taxi guy we saw on the street.”
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