AT around 1.45pm on Saturday 20 July 2013, a woman, 31, was shopping in the Homesense store in the Arndale Centre when she felt something brush up the inside of her leg.
"We have captured the man's image on CCTV and we have released this picture in the hope that anyone who recognises him will come forward.”
She turned around to see a man attempting to take a photo up her skirt using a digital camera.
The woman shouted at the man and snatched his camera as the offender ran off towards TK Maxx.
Man on CCTVThe offender is described as black, stocky, 6ft 2 in tall with shaved hair. He was wearing a blue shirt, black trousers, brown shoes and sunglasses on top of his head. It is also believed that he may have been carrying a WH Smith carrier bag.
Detective Constable Dave Gager said: "This woman was absolutely shocked and appalled to be confronted by a man attempting to take an indecent image of her while she was out shopping.
"It is not the sort of thing anyone would expect to happen while simply out shopping and understandably she is both angry and upset this man would try and commit such a brazen and callous act.
"We have captured the man's image on CCTV and we have released this picture in the hope that anyone who recognises him will come forward.”
In similar cases, a Cumbrian man, 28, was jailed for nine months in 2010 for videoing under the skirt of a woman shopping at a Morrison’s in Whitehaven, while a London man, 63, was jailed for twelve months in 2009 after standing at the bottom of Tube escalators using a compact mirror concealed inside a newspaper to target victims.
Anyone with information should call police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
