Hundreds of hate crimes on trains

Hundreds of hate crimes have been reported on trains across Ayrshire, new figures show.

East Ayrshire has seen the biggest rise of reported hate crimes in 2019/20 with a shocking 110 reports made, which is six up from the previous year.

North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire have seen a slight decrease in reported hate crimes. North Ayrshire had a total of 135 reported hate crimes in 2019/20, five fewer reported crimes since 2018/19. South Ayrshire has the lowest reported hate crime figures for Ayrshire, sitting at 71 for 2019/20 , 30 fewer reported hate crimes from the previous year.

A British Transport Police spokesman, said:“We take these incidents extremely seriously.

“We have highly visible patrols and dedicated operations across the railway to ensure the safety and security of passengers and staff. In the rare instances where incidents do happen, we’re ready to respond and have access to CCTV across the network which often give us vital evidence to identify suspects and make arrests.

“We won’t tolerate behaviour where someone is targeted because of who they are or made to feel uncomfortable on their journey.”