TRANSPORT police have issued a series of CCTV appeals of people they want to trace in connection with a series of thefts across the rail network.

It comes after the force saw a stark increase in the number of thefts, particularly of passenger property, in 2013.

Operation Magnum was established last summer of 2013 to make passengers more aware of the tactics used by the majority of thieves.

Among the crimes being investigated was a theft at St Helens Central station, where a woman accidentally left her bag in the booking office for a short time.

When she went to retrieve it, it had been stolen. The theft happened at December 14 2013, say police.

Another theft happened at 5.50pm on Christmas Eve 2013 when a passenger placed her suitcase in the vestibule of a train travelling from Liverpool Lime Street to Blackpool North.

At Wigan North Western she discovered the suitcase had been stolen and enquiries revealed it was taken at St Helens Central.

Detective Chief Inspector Andrea Rainey said: “BTP, in conjunction with train operating companies, has done a huge amount of work to build awareness of the tactics of thieves and their likely targets.

“But criminals are still operating across the network and are preying on passengers whose attention is on things other than their property.

“Thankfully the railway is well covered by CCTV and, in most cases, there is nowhere for thieves to hide.

“We have several ongoing cases at the moment in which we have good CCTV images of people we believe can help reunite passengers with their stolen property and I am calling on anyone who can identify these people to come forward.”

Call 0800 40 50 40 or ring Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111. In all calls please quote log NWA/B9 of 13/3/14.