RESIDENTS are being urged to help stamp out hate crime across the county.

As part of National Hate Crime Awareness Week, running all this week, members of the South Worcestershire Safer Community Partnership are asking people to think twice about hate crime.

A hate crime is defined as any incident which is perceived by anyone - whether the victim or an onlooker - as having been motivated by prejudice or hatred.

Although 330 hate crimes were reported in Worcestershire in the last 12 months, experts have said about 90 per cent of such incidents go unreported, meaning there could be more than 3,000 in the county every year.

To report any incident of hate crime, call police on 101 or in confidence at report-it.org.uk.