A Hungarian family living on a Shropshire estate today said they were being terrorised in their own home by a tirade of hate crime including assaults, racial abuse and vandalism.

The Horvath family, who moved to James Nelson Crescent in Trench, Telford, three years ago, claimed they have endured threats and assaults, which they said had included a propaganda sticker being put on their front door and a bullet posted through their letterbox.

Istvan Horvath, 49, who is suffering from depression because of the incidents, lives in the home with his wife Andrea, 39, 19-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son.

Mr Horvath said as recently as last Thursday his son was hospitalised after he was allegedly punched several times in the head.

On the same day stickers appeared on signs in the road and on the family’s front door, Mr Horvath claimed a bullet in a casing was posted through the letterbox.

He said: “It’s ruining our lives. We feel like we live in a prison, my family are too afraid to go outside.

“My son is 11 and he is sleeping on the floor in the living room because he’s too afraid to go upstairs in case they burn down the house.

“It’s too much and we can’t take any more. We just want to move from here,” he added.

West Mercia Police Inspector Jenny Sullivan said: “We have spoken to the complainant on a number of occasions and have offered him all the help and support we are able to, to resolve these long-term problems.”

He added: “Unfortunately there have been a number of occasions where Mr Horvath has not fully engaged with police and other partner agencies trying to resolve the problems.

“In the latest incident of alleged assault we have tried on a number of occasions to contact the victim’s parents but have been unsuccessful.

“Now that we are aware of the incident of potentially racist stickers being placed in James Nelson Crescent we will look into that matter.”

Francis Best, director of Wrekin Housing Trust, said: “First and foremost the family are not tenants of The Wrekin Housing Trust, but we can confirm that they are applying for homes through our choice based lettings service, Chooseyourhome.”