Man fined over racist outburst at opticians in wake of attack

A man who refused to be treated by an optician in the wake of the Manchester bombing atrocity because she was not white has been fined £350.

Eric Greene, 58, was branded a bigot by Sheriff Nikola Stewart who told him: “Charlottesville is what happens if you don’t take this kind of thing seriously.”

Greene, of Carluke, Lanarkshire, had gone to a Specsavers store in Lanark when he was asked by an employee to join her at her desk. The appointment was two days after the Manchester Arena bombing of 22 May that saw 22 people killed at an Ariana Grande concert.

Trainee optician Sarah Kerr noticed Greene looked hesitant but was left stunned when he told her: “I don’t mean to soundimpersonalbuti’drather be seen by a white person.”

Greene appeared at Lanark Sheriff Court and admitted a racist breach of the peace.