A mother who was walking home with her one-year-old son was terrified when a man, estimated to be in his late 50s or early 60s, followed her through Ross-on-Wye town centre, and took photographs of her and her child.

Sophie Beard told the Ross Gazette that the incident happened at around lunchtime on Wednesday, April 20th. She and her infant son had called into one of the shops in High Street, where her husband, Tom works.

Tom noticed a man acting strangely outside the shop, but he didn’t think too much of it at the time. The man was seen waiting outside the Market House for about ten minutes, while Sophie was speaking to her husband.

When she left, and began walking down Broad Street, Tom saw that the man had a camera out and was taking photographs of Sophie and their son. Tom then called Sophie on her mobile phone and told her he thought that she was being followed, and asked if the man was still there. “I turned around and he was,” Sophie told the Gazette, “So Tom said to go into Aldi as I had a bit of shopping I needed to pick up and he would head down to meet me and check the guy wasn’t following me.”

Tom then went to meet Sophie. He noticed that the man was stood on the opposite side of the road, near EnviroAbility on Brookend Street. He appeared to be waiting for something.

Tom then met Sophie inside Aldi. He advised her to head home. He said that he would wait inside Aldi, to see whether the man was following her, or if it was just coincidence, but when Sophie left the shop and began to walk home, the man, who had waited outside Aldi for more than 15 minutes continued to follow her out of town.

Sophie said: “I headed to Five Ways with the guy still following behind me. At this point Tom caught up with me and said he would walk me home, as I was in tears.”

When Tom arrived, the unknown man then left, and headed off towards Morrisons. Sophie said: “He was on the phone to someone as soon as he saw Tom approach me.”

The man is estimated to be between the ages of 55 and 65. He is balding, with specks of grey hair on the sides, of a medium build, and around 5ft 7” in height. He had a red mark or scar on the right hand side of his head. He was wearing a green coat and dark trousers.

“I was really scared and I still am if I’m honest. I didn’t see him take the photos but Tom saw him, I was completely oblivious until Tom called me and asked if this guy was behind me still,” Sophie said.

Sophie has shared the story on Social Media, in an attempt to raise some local awareness, particularly for other local women and children.

A spokesperson for West Mercia Police told the Ross Gazette that they are aware of this report and enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances.