A VICIOUS ‘racially aggravated’ assault on a Kenyan man in Cirencester has sparked a police hunt for the attacker.

A 20-year-old white Kenyan man from Cirencester, who was on a night out, was assaulted by another white man at about 11.30pm on Friday near the town centre Tesco supermarket in Farrell Close.

Police said the attacker insulted the 20-year-old man, who had a ‘distinctive accent’, calling him ‘colonial’ and shouting that he must have Ebola. He then grabbed his victim by the hair and swung him against the window of a vacant shop.

The offender was in his late teens to early 20s, approximately 5ft10 tall, clean shaven and wearing a dark hooded top.

Fortunately the victim did not require hospital treatment.

Sergeant Garrett Gloyn, of Cotswold Police, said officers suspect the young Kenyan man’s accent “may be what prompted the abuse and attack by the offender”.

Sgt Gloyn added: “We are classifying it as a hate crime and assault that is racially aggravated.

“It was clearly a busy part of the evening in the town centre. We are keen to hear from anyone who may have witnessed the incident and may be able to give us evidence or identify people involved.”

The shop window the victim was thrown against was apparently already damaged and partially boarded up before the assault but, as a result of the impact, has now been completely boarded up to stop shattered glass falling on people.

If you have any any information about the attack, call 101 or email 101@gloucestershire.police.uk, quoting incident 498 of September 15.

Alternatively, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or visit crimestoppers-uk.org

There was a significant rise in crimes in the Cotswolds driven by racism, the Standard reported in October last year. 

2015/16 saw the highest ever number of hate crimes committed since 2011/12, with 21 crimes recorded.

The most common type of hate crime in the Cotswolds was race-related, with 12 in 2015/16.

Police however previously said that the rise is due to officers being better at identifying hate crimes and victims feeling more confident to report offences.