Hunt for man seen emptying bag of blood in Reading streets
- Published
The CCTV footage was captured by a nearby Italian restaurant camera
Police are searching for a man seen emptying a plastic bag full of blood on the ground in Reading town centre.
Officers were called to "quantities of blood" in Broad Street, Duke Street and Jackson's Corner, at around 07:00 GMT on Tuesday.
CCTV captured a man walking on Broad Street at 02:35 hours carrying a white plastic bag with a quantity of liquid inside, Thames Valley Police said.
He was then seen emptying it onto the ground outside John Lewis.
The area was cordoned off for forensic investigations and tests are currently ongoing to find out where the blood came from, the force added.
Officers have confirmed the liquid on the ground is blood and are trying to determine the nature of it.
They have said there has been no suggestion of an injured person presenting at local hospitals in Berkshire or to the ambulance service.
'Open mind'
Owen Parker-Brunt, manager of Wolf Italian Street Food whose CCTV camera captured the incident, said he watched the "extremely unusual" footage with a police officer after arriving at work on Tuesday morning.
He said: "We both found it very strange, it was an extremely unusual thing to see.
"I wouldn't have wanted to see an assault or anything like that but at least it would explain what happened rather than the open-ended question most people are asking now."
Mr Parker-Brunt said from the direction the man was walking outside his store, and the blood found elsewhere, he thought the man may have been heading in the direction of the Royal Berkshire Hospital.
"I just hope the person in question is all right and gets whatever help they may need," he added.
Det Insp James Jackson said: "At this point, we do not believe the source of the blood is as a result of an assault, although we retain an open mind as to these unusual circumstances, and are carrying out a thorough investigation."
He appealed for anyone who witnessed the incident or has CCTV or dashcam images to come forward.
"I would also appeal directly to the man seen in the images to contact the force, as I would be keen to speak to him," the officer added.
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