Police have released a CCTV image of a man they are tracing in connection with four distraction thefts of iPhone and Samsung phones across Suffolk.

The release follows four incidents of distraction thefts in November in the county town, Stowmarket, Bury St Edmunds and Haverhill.

Three of the incidents happened between 11.30am and 3pm on Friday, November 15 at town centre businesses in the mid and west Suffolk towns.

At a business in Station Road West, Stowmarket, a man entered an office and begun talking to staff before leaving with a Samsung mobile phone.

In a similar turn of events, at an office in Risbygate Street, Bury St Edmunds, a man entered the office area and distracted staff while stealing an iPhone from one of their desks.

Then in Haverhill, a man went into an Office in High Street and asked for information to be translated while leaning over a desk to steal another Apple iPhone.

More than a fortnight later in Ipswich, on November 30, a man entered a restaurant in Anglia Retail Park around 11.40am and placed a piece of paper over a victim's iPhone.

After he left the restaurant, the victim realised her phone had been stolen.

Officers would like to speak to the man pictured regarding the incidents.

He is described as being around 5ft 11in tall and well built, wearing dark-coloured bottoms, a black jacket and a black hat.

Police have also warned customer-facing businesses and their employees to be vigilant to this type of offence, and to ensure that any personal possessions or valuable items in areas accessible by the public are kept in a safe place and out of reach.

Anyone who recognises the man, or has any information regarding any of the four incidents, is asked to contact the Incident and Crime Management Hub, quoting reference number 69218/19.