Police are appealing for witnesses after a woman was verbally abused whilst doing the school run on Tuesday morning.

The woman was on Saltern Drive in Spalding at around 8.30am with her daughter when a man with a dog blocked her path, spat at her and swore, referring to her as a “foreigner”.

Lincolnshire Police said: “We are treating this as a hate crime and urging any witnesses to come forward. Do you know who this man is? Did you see the incident? Hate crime is rightly a high priority for us.

“Discrimination will not be tolerated in our communities for whatever reason.”

South Holland Neighbourhood Policing Sgt Rick Mosley added: “Everyone has the right to go about their daily business without fear of being abused for being who they are. If you have experienced or witnessed any similar behaviour we would like to hear from you.”

Anyone with information on this incident can police on 101, quoting incident 92 of January 21, email [email protected] by putting “incident 92 of 21 January” in the subject line, or by contacting Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.