Witness appeal over race attack

Thursday 9th July 2009, 11:32AM BST.

police-jacket A man was subjected to racist abuse before being grabbed and struck in the face as he left a supermarket in Shrewsbury.

The victim, who is in his 20s, left the Tesco Extra store in Battlefield Road just before 1am on Saturday and was walking to his car when two men began shouting racist insults at him, police said.

When he got to his vehicle, the offenders came over and one of them grabbed his neck and attempted to bite him while the other punched him in the face.

Following the attack the two men escaped in a car, believed to be an older model of Ford Fiesta. The victim was left shaken but not seriously hurt and did not need medical help.

Detective Constable Andy Hawkins, Shropshire Division’s hate crime officer, appealed for anyone who witnessed the incident to contact him.

“We believe there were a number of people in the car park at the time who must have seen what happened,” he said. “The matter is being treated as a racially aggravated assault and I am keen to hear from anybody who might have information which could help our investigation.”

CCTV from Tesco is being examined and a number of witnesses have already been spoken to, but many more are believed to have seen what happened.

Information can be passed to police on 0300 333 3000 or anonymously via the Crimestoppers number 0800 555111.

View more: Shrewsbury news, Tesco news.