Woman asleep on Edinburgh train woke to naked man beside her

The incident happened on a morning service between Polmont and Edinburgh

A passenger sleeping on an early morning train to Edinburgh woke up to find a naked man on a seat next to her.

British Transport Police (BTP) is appealing for help to trace the man, aged 65 to 70, for "public indecency" on the Polmont to Edinburgh Waverley service at 07:20 on Tuesday.

He put on black joggers, a t-shirt and boots and left the train at Edinburgh.

BTP said there were other passengers on the train at the time and they have CCTV footage of the incident.

The man is described as white, 5ft 6in tall with a medium/slim build, with short grey hair and a stubbly beard.

BTP said anyone who experiences harassment or an assault can report it "discreetly" using its 61016 text message number.

'Travel in safety'

The force urged anyone who witnessed the incident to contact them.

It comes after a report from Transport Scotland found a third of women were concerned about their safety on public transport.

Former transport minister Jenny Gilruth, who commissioned the study, said it demonstrated "just how exhausting it is to be a woman in Scotland in 2023 just wanting to travel home safely".

"Women shouldn't have to tolerate this," she said. "They should be able to travel on public transport in safety and men should learn how to behave themselves."

• Safety fears for women on public transport - study

Figures from BTP showed there were 63 reports of sexual assaults on ScotRail trains between 2017 and 2021.

ScotRail said any incident reported is fully investigated and it was committed to working with BTP.

Safety director David Lister said: "ScotRail works very closely with British Transport Police to ensure that Scotland's Railway is a safe environment for our customers, and our own people.

"If anyone observes any inappropriate behaviour on our trains or at stations, they should contact the BTP and report those responsible."