Officers have today (4 Feb) released a CCTV image of a person that they would like to identify in relation to a suspicious incident in the Fawley area

It comes after two teenage girls were walking home at around 4pm on Friday 21 January but split at the junction of Hampton Lane and Rollestone Road.

One of the girls continued along Hampton Lane towards Blackfield Primary school but noticed that she was being followed by an unknown man. She travelled along Wilverley Place via a footpath then continued onto Blackfield Road before coming out opposite the junction with Dark Lane.

At this point, the man has then fled in the opposite direction.

He was described as being white, in his 30s with a ginger beard. He was seen wearing a blue hooded top and a black tracksuit over the top of the hoodie.

Acting Police Sergeant Rich Diggins, said: “We appreciate that this incident may cause some concern in the local community, however, please be rest assured that our local Neighbourhood Policing Team have stepped up their routine, high-visability patrols in the area in recent weeks to provide some level of reassurance to the local community.

“Our officers have also delivered safeguarding advice to the girl and her family. Although a distressing incident for the girl to have gone through, there have been no further reports of similar incidents. She was right to let the police know when she felt unsafe and we will continue to support the victim and the local community.

“If anyone recognises the man, albeit we appreciate it is not the clearest photo, or remembers seeing a man acting suspiciously at the time in the area, please report it to police. Any information, no matter how small, may prove beneficial to our investigation.

“If you are the man in the image, we would urge you to come forward and speak with us, so that we can discuss the incident with you and continue our policing enquiries.”

Anyone with information is asked to call 101, quoting crime reference number 44220028061.

Alternatively, you can submit information via the following form: https://www.hampshire.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about/cor/tell-us-about-existing-case-report/.