UPDATE

A Gwent police spokesperson has said:"We received a call around 4pm on Wednesday 4th January reporting that a man had approached a woman in the Garden City Way area of Chepstow while she was walking home from work.

"The man reportedly complimented the lady and offered to give her a lift to which she refused. The man persisted by holding her arm and again complimenting her – at which point she walked away."

"Officers enquiries are ongoing to trace this man. The car driven was a burgundy car, possibly a Mazda with a registration starting KB04.

"The man is described as being around 6ft tall with dark hair and wearing a black leather jacket, black jeans and a black shirt. The man spoke with what was reported as possibly an Italian accent."

Local Inspector Phillip Morris said; “Officers are making further enquiries to trace the man. 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."

If anyone has information in relation to this incident, please call Gwent Police on 101, quoting log 325 4/1/17.

UPDATE

A drive for better security for pedestrians was sparked after a woman was approached and grabbed in Chepstow.

This week a number of women were followed by an as-yet unknown man, with one sharing her story of how he tried to pull her into his car.

Natasha Williams was walking home from work in Chepstow town centre at 4.15pm on 4th January, when she was apparently approached by a man in a car along Garden City Way.

In a Facebook post which has been shared nearly 2,000 times she told how: “(he) got out and started talking to me telling me I was pretty and asking where I lived, and tried to grab me and pull me into his car saying he would give me a lift home and he could talk to me.”

After fleeing, 22-year-old Miss Williams called police who are now investigating the incident.

Miss Williams described the vehicle as a “burgundy estate car” and said the man’s “English (was) not very good”.

On Miss Williams’ post a number of other women shared similar experiences of being approached in the same area around the same time.

After what she experienced, Miss Williams started a petition for CCTV cameras to be placed along Garden City Way or Rockwood Road to protect the people that use the routes.

She said: “I walk it twice a day, it is always busy with workers parking their cars and walking into town, children walking to and from school as they cut through Rockwood Road (Piggys Hill) through to the town centre, also there are a number of houses on Garden City Way that house the elderly.”

So far the petition has 208 signatures.

Updates to come.