A YOUNG woman had a lucky escape after a man tried to get her in his van.

The woman from Laindon, was walking to work when a white van pulled up next to her.

A man got out of the passenger seat of the van and told her to “get in the van now.”

Terrified, the 22-year-old sprinted away before he had a chance to grab her.

Natalie Mann, explained what happened to sister, saying: “She was walking to work in broad daylight, it was about half one last Saturday.

“She got to the zebra crossing, near the back of Asda, when the van pulled over.

“He got out and sternly told her to get in the van, quite aggressively.

“She ran off so quickly, absolutely hysterical.

“It was lucky he didn’t get his hands on her. You just don’t know what he was planning.

“She was so petrified and phoned mum sobbing. After hearing her so scared, mum told her she needed to get in touch with police.

“Mum was worrying after.”

The 30-year-old, from Walsall, continued to describe her sister's experience, adding: “It’s really worrying, especially that it happened in daylight. 

“It was lucky she was going into work where there were lots of people around.

“What’s worse is, she looks a lot younger than she is so maybe he was looking for someone even younger.

“When I used to live in Laindon at about 15, a group mugged me, taking my phone and jewellery.

“My dad, who we sadly lost last August went out looking for them when I got jumped, he got my stuff back for me.

“If he was here now, he would have been down like a shot looking for the man, especially since my sister is the youngest out of us.

“The police couldn’t find any CCTV footage or cameras from that area which could have shown who he was.

“Since it happened she doesn’t say much, she’s the type to just block it out."

An Essex Police spokesman said: “We were called shortly after 2pm on Saturday, January 26 to reports of an incident in Basildon.

“A woman reported a man had gotten out of a white van in Burches area and told her to get in. She ran off and the vehicle drove off towards the traffic lights.

“It was reported the man was a passenger in the vehicle.

“If you saw or heard anything, have any dash cam footage or any other information please call us quoting incident 674 of January 26 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”