Sharp rise in hate crime

According to the PSNI's Hate Incidents and Crimes Quarterly Update hate crimes in the area have increased by almost 300 per cent.

Twenty incidents motivated by sectarian, racist or homophobic prejudice, were reported to police each week in the city.

The figures show a total of 123 incidents were reported between April and September of last year, compared to only 45 incidents in the same period in 2008.

And of those incidents 90 were reported as sectarian, 23 as racially motivated and 10 as being of a homophobic nature.

Compared to the same period in 2008, racially motivated incidents have soared by a massive 187 per cent, sectarian incidents by 173 per cent and homophobic incidents have increased by 150 per cent.

A PSNI spokeswoman said: "We are committed to doing everything in our power to prevent them occurring and when they do occur, bringing those responsible before the courts.

“However, police cannot work in isolation and we need the support of the community to help stamp out hate crime."