Nottingham boy, 2, 'being spat at was hate crime'

Yasmin Johal was walking with her two-year-old son Remy and boyfriend Danny in Nottingham when they were confronted in Mansfield Road, on Sunday afternoon

A two-year-old boy who was "spat at, threatened and racially abused" was a victim of hate crime, police have said.

Yasmin Johal was pushing son Remy through Nottingham when a man began to spit at him "multiple times" on Mansfield Road, on Sunday afternoon.

The 23-year-old, who was with her boyfriend, said the man also threatened to "smash [Remy's] head on the pavement".

Nottinghamshire Police told the BBC "we are treating this as a hate crime".

Ms Johal, whose family is of Indian heritage, said she was "scared and just wanted to get away".

"I'm so angry at the audacity of the man for saying and doing what he did in broad daylight," she said.

"I'm upset that the people in this world can be so cruel.

"We don't want to be here anymore. I don't feel safe."

Ms Johal said Remy was fine because "he's a little too young to remember".

"But at the time he was crying and upset," she explained. "I think because I was crying."

The vlogger, who tweeted about the abuse, said she was "overwhelmed by all the messages of support".

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The Coventry-born mother, who moved back to Nottingham six months ago, said she had previously experienced hate crime in Mansfield Road.

She said one evening in January, another man "got very racist and said I was 'scum and dirty'."

Supt Matthew McFarlane, said racially-aggravated public order offences "are not acceptable".

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