Sikhs 'very worried' by Oldbury rape, MP says

Preet Gill said members of the Sikh community told her they felt very worried by the attack

An MP has said the rape of a woman that police are treating as racially aggravated has left the Sikh community "very, very worried".

Police have renewed an appeal for information after the woman in her 20s reported being attacked by two men in Oldbury on 9 September at about 08:30 BST.

A suspect in his 30s arrested on suspicion of rape has been bailed pending inquiries.

Speaking from the scene of the attack near Tame Road, MP Preet Gill said: "I think the racial connotation in this attack tells you that there's a minority of people that feel quite emboldened who are trying to create division and hate."

She added she had seen an increase in hate crimes reported to her by her constituents.

The Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston said: "This was a horrific attack, nobody would have expected a young woman to have been physically attacked, raped, with racial aggravation at 8:30 in the morning going to work in broad daylight."

She described how the attack had unnerved her personally and said the victim was at the forefront of her thoughts.

The MP also referred to an attack in August that left a Sikh taxi driver in Wolverhampton with broken ribs, that police are also treating as racially aggravated.

"I've never, ever known a time where people feel emboldened to racially attack us verbally and I have seen more of that reported to me by my constituents," she said.

Ch Supt Kim Madill renewed an appeal for information about two white men seen near the scene of the reported rape

In a press conference on Thursday from the scene of the reported rape, Ch Supt Kim Madill renewed an appeal for information about two white men seen in the area near the time.

Detectives want to trace a heavily built man with a shaved head who was in a dark-coloured sweatshirt and gloves, and a second individual reported to have been wearing a grey top with a silver zip.

The woman had reported to police that a racist remark was made to her during the attack.

'Be vigilant'

Ch Supt Madill said she understood the fear and concern the incident had caused but described it as "isolated" and "very, very rare".

"It won't feel rare to this poor young woman who's been subjected to this and will have to live with that trauma for the rest of her life.

"But you should still live your lives, be vigilant when you're out, be knowledgeable about your surroundings."

She added hate crime should be reported to police, no matter how minor: "Because those things can escalate if we don't get the information we need."

She also appealed for dashcam or doorbell footage from around the time of the attack to be submitted via a dedicated public portal.