Kennedy News and MediaYou’d like to think you’d be able to count on a good Samaritan to help you out in times of crisis, no matter the situation.
When you’re stranded in a broken-down car in the dark with children to get home to though, that situation becomes more urgent, and relying on a kind-hearted person really becomes the only option.
So when that person refuses to help you unless you send a ‘bra pic’, you can only imagine how you might react. Bethany Pywell doesn’t have to imagine it though, as this is exactly what happened to her earlier this month.
Facebook/Kennedy News and MediaBethany had been catching up with a friend in her parked car last Friday, January 17, when her friend’s car refused to restart – leaving the pair stranded at a retail park in King’s Lynn, Norfolk.
The two frantically asked passersby for help to get home to their children, but when that failed they turned to social media in an attempt to get one of their friends to help.
The 25-year-old was relieved when one of her Facebook friends, a guy called Luke, offered to come and jump-start the car. However, this relief quickly turned to anger when Luke made it clear he would only come and help them if he received something in return.
Kennedy News and MediaAfter asking where she was, Luke wrote: ‘What’s in it for me xxx’. Shocked, Bethany responded: ‘Seriously dude we’ve both got kids we wanna get home to and [we’re] freezing! Please just help us out.’
Luke, who Bethany had never met and only had him as a Facebook friend because he added her, then said he would help them – ‘but send me a pic of you in your bra and I can be there [in] five mins xx’.
Bethany said she was horrified by what she was reading:
It’s absolutely shocking, because when you’re in that situation you don’t expect someone to take advantage of you like that. I just wanted to go home to my little girl.
I couldn’t believe what I was reading. I wanted him to see sense that he can’t get away with doing that, but he obviously didn’t.
Kennedy News and MediaAfter her friend pleaded with her to play along if it meant them getting home, the mum-of-one pretended to offer a photo of her bra when she got home. However, Luke didn’t believe her and insisted on three more occasions that she send the picture now.
Bethany refused, telling Luke she had ‘more respect’ for herself than that and branding him a ‘d*ck’, adding ‘go f*ck yourself’. Throughout all of this, the stranger persisted, telling her to ‘go on’ and taking advantage of the fact the two women were stranded.
The 25-year-old, who works as a carer, refused to give into the man’s demands – although she did eventually send a ‘dirty pic’. Not the type that immediately springs to mind, but one that showed her dirty trainers in all their muddy glory.
Alongside the picture, she wrote: ‘Here’s your dirty pic. Arsehole.’
Kennedy News and MediaBethany said she chose to post her ordeal on Facebook because she saw Luke had ‘quite a lot’ of mutual friends with her and she didn’t want anyone else going through what she had. ‘I do not want anyone else being spoken to the way I have been,’ she added.
The mum-of-one continued:
I’m not one to stereotype, I know it’s not all men. Some men out there have a heart of gold and wouldn’t hurt a fly. But then you get some men like that.
A lot of people have said they think it’s a fake profile. It’s just scary to think if I had let him come and help me, what would have happened?
Although this particular story has a great ending, as Luke got his comeuppance and Bethany and her friend were eventually rescued by an actual good Samaritan, it shines a light on just how dangerous social media can be.
Facebook/Kennedy News and MediaLuckily, Bethany recognised Luke’s manipulative tactics and later removed him as a friend and blocked him, but others – who are perhaps in a more vulnerable position – could easily fall victim to this without realising.
Hopefully this will serve as a reminder that not everybody on the internet is who they say they are, and also as proof that Bethany is an absolute QUEEN.
You go, girl.
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected]
A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).