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DO YOU RECOGNISE THIS MAN? TRANSPORT POLICE APPEAL FOR INFORMATION FOLLOWING BAG THEFT FROM TRAIN BETWEEN NEWPORT-BRISTOL

British Transport Police (BTP) officers are appealing for the public^s help to identify a man they would like to speak to in connection with the theft of a passenger^s property from a train between Newport and Filton Abbey Wood rail stations.

Officers have today released a CCTV image of a man they want to trace and speak to as they believe he will have information which can assist the investigation.

PC Darran Blackwell, investigating officer, said theft took place on board a Newport to Bristol temple Meads service on Sunday 3 April 2011. "At around 7.15pm, the victim and her friend were on the platform at Newport rail station when a man approached them and engaged them in conversation. The women boarded a train to Bristol Temple Meads and placed their bags on the overhead luggage rack. The man who had been speaking to the women also boarded the train and sat in a seat opposite them. When the train arrived at Filton Abbey Wood rail station, the man reached up and took one of the women^s handbags before fleeing the train. The women attempted to give chase but the trains doors closed after the man got off and he fled from the station. Enquiries are ongoing and after viewing CCTV images from the train, BTP would like to speak to the man in this photograph. I would ask anyone who knows his identity, or his current whereabouts, to contact police straight away.^