TWO 15-year-old boys have been identified by police after CCTV was released following the violent attempted robbery of a young woman in Cirencester.

Officers released CCTV images of two boys they wanted to speak to following the incident on June 28, in which a 22-year-old woman was grabbed from behind before being knocked to the ground.

She was walking into Trafalgar Road from Spitalgate Lane when she became aware of someone behind her, before turning to see two people a short distance away.

She was then grabbed from behind by one male who took hold of her two bags and pulled her to the ground before running off towards an alleyway which leads to Goose Lane.

The woman got up and gave chase, shouting at the offender, who dropped both bags and continued running away.

Cotswold Police Sergeant Garrett Gloyn said only one of the boys in the CCTV images is being treated as a suspect, with the other not believed to have taken part in the offence.

“We are confident that we have got the right people and the main offender of the pair has been interviewed under caution,” he said. “Now we present the evidence to the local youth offending panel and the Crown Prosecution Service for a decision on how he is to be dealt with.”

Sgt Gloyn said this usually takes a couple of weeks.

“Charging of young people now is something that we consult with other agencies on,” the sergeant told the Standard.

“With it being an alleged robbery, it’s an indictable only offence.

“Ultimately, whether they are charged is a Crown Prosecution Service decision, but we also involve the youth offending team in that decision because they are youths.”

Sgt Gloyn added that “a bag snatch in the town centre is rare” and that he anticipated that this case would go to court.

For updates on this story and more crime news, see wiltsglosstandard.co.uk