HATE crimes have risen across Worcestershire since Brexit, with police chiefs saying they will "not tolerate it".

West Mercia Police has revealed it has seen a "small rise" in the number of racially-driven hate incidents since the vote, although it will not state how many.

It follows severe criticism from Prime Minister David Cameron, who used his first Commons speech since the referendum to hit out at a 57 per cent hike nationwide.

As the Worcester News revealed yesterday, some of the crimes nationwide include racist graffiti on a Polish association building in London, letters being posted through homes in Cambridgeshire saying 'Leave the EU, no more Polish' and one viral internet video in Hackney where one man yells to a passer-by: "Go back to your country".

West Mercia Police says it has compared data for the last two weekends across the force region and has seen a rise.

But it also believes more hate crimes are going unreported, and has issued an appeal for people to come forward.

A spokesman said: "Tackling hate crime is one of our key priorities and any reports of this nature will be thoroughly investigated.

"Hate crimes are under-reported 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."

Police and crime commissioner John Campion said: "We are aware of national coverage of increased hate crime in some areas following the referendum last week. 

"I'm reassured that West Mercia Police are responding to our communities concerns and taking proactive steps to ensure all of our communities feel safe."

Worcester MP Robin Walker has revealed his fury at the problems, calling it "unacceptable".

"I'm going to speak to the police about this, clearly it's unacceptable, whatever the tensions there is absolutely no excuse for this abuse," he said.

"The graffiti on the Polish centre in London is particularly abysmal given their efforts in the Battle of Britain, it's an attack on British values.

"There has to be zero tolerance for any sort of racist abuse and intolerance, it's not acceptable."

The National Police Chiefs' Council says there was an increase of reports to an online hate crime reporting site between last Thursday and Sunday, compared to the corresponding period four weeks ago.

The Prime Minister has condemned the incidents of abuse and hatred directed at migrants, calling it "unacceptable" while Boris Johnson has labelled it "appalling".

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