FOREIGN tourists have cancelled trips to Sussex this summer following racist attacks in the aftermath of the Brexit vote, a council leaders has revealed.

There have reportedly been more than 500 post-Brexit hate crimes reported nationally, including vile letters, chants and violence.

Now it has been revealed German students were racially abused in Hastings.

Councillor Peter Chowney, leader of Hastings Borough Council, said: "This was reported on German television and led to a spate of holiday accommodation cancellations by German visitors.

"Not only are these nasty racists behaving in an illegal and despicable way, they're damaging the local economy too."

Seaside towns rely heavily on visiting foreign students, especially during the summer.

A recent British Council study calculated English language teaching was worth more than £1bn a year to our economy nationally.

Hastings has a large number of language schools, and all have signed up to a Code of Practice and belong to Hastings Overseas Student Advisory Council (HOSAC).

Schools also sign an Annual Declaration committing them to ensure quality standards in terms of education, school liability, student welfare and standard of host family accommodation.

They also meet regularly with Hastings Council Officers, Sussex Police and youth development officers from East Sussex County Council (ESCC) to ensure students are guaranteed a safe and enjoyable stay in the town.

Back in 2008, Arab language student Mohammed al-Majed, 16, from Qatar, died two days after suffering a serious head injury when he hit the pavement during a confrontation in Hastings.

He was studying English at EF International Language Schools in White Rock, Hastings, and his body was flown back to Qatar after he died at King’s College Hospital, London.

The death prompted community leaders to organise a two-minute silence in Hastings town centre amid concerns about the impact on the resort’s important foreign tourist trade.

With the death gaining wide coverage in the Middle Eastern media, council chiefs at the time feared the incident would deter some of the 35,000 overseas students who arrive in the seaside town every year.