Chepstow CCTV call as woman grabbed by man in street

A woman who was grabbed by a man as she walked home has called for more CCTV cameras to make Chepstow safer.

Natasha Williams said he followed her from work on the high street and approached her in the Garden City area of the town on Wednesday at 16:00 GMT.

"He grabbed me and spun me around," said Mrs Williams, 22, whose online petition for Chepstow's CCTV network to be extended has 350 signatures.

Police are looking for a man described as 6ft tall, with dark hair.

Ms Williams said: "Having more CCTV cameras would make people like that think again and, in my opinion, make the streets safer."

He was wearing a black leather jacket, black jeans and a black shirt, spoke with "possibly an Italian accent" and was driving a burgundy car.

"The man reportedly complimented the lady and offered to give her a lift to which she refused," said Insp Phillip Morris.

"A post on social media has identified a second woman who was approached and we would be interested to know if the man has behaved in a similar way towards other women recently.

"The accounts from both women do not suggest that he was threatening in any way, however he did cause them distress and we would like the opportunity to speak to the man about his behaviour."

'Zero confidence'

Ms Williams, who moved to Chepstow in 2015, admitted the incident had shook her up.

"I pushed him away and ran off," said the beautician.

"I'm ok just feel awful and don't really want to go outside. My confidence has just hit zero thanks to him."

A Monmouthshire council spokesman said it was "concerned" by her "recent experience" but added their CCTV control room does "not have the infrastructure to add more cameras".

However, once capacity is increased, he added Ms Williams' call "could certainly be considered".