Somerset mosque rock attack 'racially motivated', say police

Attack comes amid a surge in in race-related hate crime since Britain voted to leave the European Union

It comes as post-Brexit hate crime figures are up 20 per cent on the same time last year (Getty)

An attack on a mosque in being treated as racially motivated.

Police are appealing for witnesses after rocks were thrown the window of the Yeovil Islamic Centre in Somerset during the evening of 15 July.

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police appealed for any witnesses who may have seen anything unusual in the Sherborne Road area between the hours of 11:30pm and 1:30am the following day.

The mosque is the only one of its kind in the area

The incident is just one in a surge of racially motivated hate crime since Britain voted to leave the European Union last month.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council reported nearly 6,200 separate hate crime incidents in the four weeks since 16 June.

The latest figures suggested there were 3,001 offences in the first two weeks of July, down six per cent compared to the previous fortnight, but still 20 per cent higher than the same period last year.

Earlier this month the organisation said the spike seen in the final two weeks of June represented a 42 per cent rise on this time last year.

The majority of the attacks have been focused on Muslim people and Eastern Europeans.

Immigration was one of the most divisive issues during the referendum, with controlling the influx of EU workers and refugees from Iraq and Syria topping the list of many voters’ concerns.

Ukip leader Nigel Farage unveiled a controversial poster a week before the vote entitled “Breaking Point” with a picture of refugees queuing at the Slovakian border.

Both the Remain and official Leave campaigns denounced the poster, with Ukip politician Douglas Carswell calling it “morally wrong”.

Mark Hamilton, the National Police Chiefs' Council spokesman on hate crimes said: "Following increases in hate crime seen after the EU referendum, police forces have been taking a robust approach to these crimes and we are pleased to see the numbers of incidents have begun to fall.

"Clearly any hate crime is unacceptable and these numbers are still far too high."

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Constabulary said: "We are treating the incident as racially or religiously aggravated criminal damage.

"Anyone who saw anything, or who has any other information, is asked to call 101 quoting reference number 5216156358."

Additional reporting by PA