REDDITCH councillors unanimously passed a motion condemning hate crimes at the recent full council meeting.

On Monday, July 25, in a cross party motion proposed by leader of the Conservative group councillor Juliet Brunner and seconded by council leader Bill Hartnett (Labour), members pledged to deplore racism, xenophobia and hate crimes in response to the rise in incidents following the Brexit vote.

The motion, which was drafted after many residents sent in emails proposing a resolution on the subject, said: "We in Redditch are proud to live in a diverse and tolerant society.

"Racism, xenophobia and hate have no place in our town or country.

"The elected representatives on Redditch Borough Council, condemn racism, xenophobia and hate crimes unequivocally. We will not allow hate to become acceptable."

Cllr Brunner pointed out that Redditch, unlike other areas of the country,has not had a large rise in hate crimes since Brexit.

"Redditch has not seen the big increases in incidents that other areas of the UK have experienced," she said.

"However, we are not complacent and realise that any report is one incident too many and officers are constantly monitoring the situation.

"As we know, Hate crimes are notoriously under-reported, often because of fears of retaliation and escalation or sometimes even a lack of understanding that the incident is actually a hate crime.

"We encourage anyone who has experienced or witnessed a hate incident to report it as soon as possible. No one should suffer in silence and local organisations are working together to offer support and take action on behalf of any resident in need of help."

Council leader Bill Hartnett (Labour) said: "It could be seen unfortunate that the public feel the need to move a motion like this, but we were quick to take the opportunity to reaffirm our ejection of racism, xenophobia and hate crime.

"I have worked to maintain and build on god community relations in the town with all groups. We have a diverse community here in Redditch with a great community spirit.

"I remind you that Redditch were the first town in the country to welcome refugee families from Syria."

Councillors and officers also pledged to continue to work to support local bodies and programmes such as the North Worcestershire hate incident partnership.