A man’s attempt to run a Muslim woman over with his car while she waited for a bus in Southampton was racially motivated, police have said. The 30-year-old woman, wearing a hijab, was targeted at Lordshill Centre on August 23.

The man drove up next to her in a red car and verbally abused her, before trying to mount the kerb in his car. He then drove off towards a nearby roundabout, before driving back towards the woman, who ran off. “The woman, from Southampton, ran into a nearby library to escape further abuse, she was uninjured, but was left shaken by the incident,” a police spokeswoman told The Muslim News.

Police want to speak to a woman who was at the bus stop during the incident and the driver of another car who beeped his horn when the vehicle attempted to drive onto the pavement. The man has been described as white, middle-aged, of medium build, with short brown hair and a round face. He wore a yellow top. Officers said part of the registration number of the car he was driving was M214.

A spokesman for the Muslim Council of Southampton told The Muslim News, “It’s unfortunate that the lady had to go through that ordeal, we appeal to the Southampton community to help the police catch the perpetrator. We should not tolerate any forms of intimidation to any section of society.”

The Muslim News, 28 September 2007

See also BBC News, 31 August 2007