Man racially abuses Epsom Co-op worker over two nights

Surrey Police said Tuesday (February 9) they have launched a hate crime investigation and are now searching for the suspect after releasing a CCTV image recorded during one of the incidents.

Both incidents happened at the Co-op on Station Approach in Epsom, on Friday, January 22 and Saturday, January 23.

Police said the man "approached a member of staff at the Co-operative store on Station Approach in the town and used racist and offensive language towards the staff member."

Investigating officer PC Chloe Cook commented on the incident and confirmed that police were now hunting for the suspect: "This really unpleasant event saw a man become the target of a hate crime on two consecutive days as he tried to go about his work," she said.

Image via commonslibrary.parliament.uk

"We will not stand for a member of our community being subjected to this, and would like your help to identify the perpetrator," PC Cook added.

Police meanwhile offered a description of the man they are now looking for, as pictured in the CCTV image they released:

The man wore dark blue ripped jeans, black trainers and a dark blue hooded gilet.

"He carried a grey backpack and his clothing was dirty as if it was work wear," the police statement read.

Recorded hate crimes have increased year on year in England and Wales since 2013 according to police data.

Between March 2019 and March 2020 there were 105,090 offences recorded by the police where one or more of the central monitored hate crime strands were deemed to be a motivating factor.

That was 8 per cent higher than in 2018/19.

If you can help with the investigation, contact Surrey Police via their website, through a direct message on Facebook or Twitter or calling 101, quoting reference number PR/ 45210007423.

Or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.