Witness appeal following incident in Stevenage

Officers in Stevenage are appealing for witnesses and information after a hate crime was reported in the town.

The incident happened at around 4pm on Tuesday, March 5 at the bus interchange in Danesgate.

The victim, who has autism and learning/communication difficulties, was in the bus station waiting room with her support workers, when a white man in his fifties allegedly told her to "shut up and get out." 

She became upset and began screaming. Another man in the waiting room then tried to intervene and was also reportedly threatened by the offender.

Detective Sergeant Kate Raine from the Local Crime Unit, who is overseeing the investigation, said: "This is disgraceful behaviour from a member of the public, which has caused huge distress to the victim.  

"The offender's behaviour appears to have been aimed at the victim specifically due to her disabilities. 

"For this reason, it is being treated as a hate crime and is being fully investigated.

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"As part of our ongoing inquiries, we would like to hear from anybody who was at the bus station at the time and saw what happened."  

Anyone with any information is asked to contact investigating officer Mason King via email - [email protected] .

Call the non-emergency number 101, quoting crime reference 41/20991/23.