PEOPLE in Wychavon are being encouraged to report hate crime as part of a county-wide campaign for hate crime awareness week.

A hate crime or incident occurs when a person is targeted because of their disability, race, colour, religion, beliefs, ethnic origin, national origin, sexual orientation, transgender identity or age.

The 'report hate crime' campaign aims to raise awareness and encourage people to report such crimes.

JP Ken Hazeledene, chairman of the North Worcestershire hate incident partnership, said: “No-one deserves to be targeted for being who they are. It is really important that we don’t just ignore hate crime and let someone else deal with it.

"Hate crime is shockingly underreported – particularly disability hate crime – so I hope this campaign encourages people to speak up in the future.”

As part of the awareness week, residents from across Worcestershire are being invited to attend a learning disability hate crime conference at police headquarters in Hindlip, Worcester, on Wednesday, October 14, from 10am to 3pm. The conference will include interactive theatre, details on reporting a hate incident and how to access the Worcestershire safe place scheme.

For more information on the conference email communitysafety@bromsgroveandredditch.gov.uk.