Shropshire police chief vows race hate will not be tolerated after councillor's report

Superintendent Tom Harding, of West Mercia Police, said the force would not tolerate such crimes and urged victims to come forward and report them.

He was speaking after a former leader of Telford & Wrekin Council, Kuldip Sahota, revealed his wife Sukhi, 57, had been racially abused in the street and told to "go back where she came from" two days after Britain voted to leave the EU in June.

No arrests have yet been made on that incident.

But Superintendent Harding said: "West Mercia Police will not tolerate any offence which is motivated by a hostility or prejudice towards a person's race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or gender. Tackling hate crime is one of our key priorities and any reports of this nature will be thoroughly investigated.

"Hate crimes are underreported nationally and regionally, and we would strongly encourage anyone who has been the victim of a racial offence or a hate crime to report it to us.

"Nobody should have to tolerate victimisation because of who they are, and it is important that our communities have the confidence to come forward and report hate crime.

"By encouraging victims to report offences, we can target those responsible and ultimately lead to a reduction in incidents."As a society, it is everyone's responsibility to take action and prevent hate crime, not just victims. If you have been a victim or are witness to a hate crime, please report it by calling 101 or 999 in an emergency. Every report of a hate crime or a hate incident will receive a police response."

Officers have launched a fresh appeal for information into the verbal attack on Mrs Sahota.

Police spokeswoman Holly Claydon-Bevan said: "Between 4.55pm and 5.15pm on June 28, a woman was closing a premises at Market Hall, Wellington, when a man approached her and asked her a question. When the woman responded, the man made racially abusive comments towards her.

"A thorough investigation was launched but there have currently been no arrests.

"The suspect was described as a white man aged between 25 to 30 of a large build. He was believed to have short brown hair and was wearing blue jeans."

Anyone with information can contact West Mercia Police on the non-emergency 101 number, quoting incident number 199S of June 29.

Alternatively, people can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.