THE head of a Muslim organisation said he was shocked when he was spat at and racially abused in a city centre street the day after the Manchester bombing.

Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation which seeks to promote peace and dialogue between communities, said he was on his way to a conference reception on Tuesday evening when he was approached by a stranger in West Street, Brighton.

Mr Shafiq said: “I was walking down West Street and someone elbowed me. As I turned round he spat at me.

“He then said, ‘You’re a child killer. Why don’t you f*** off back to your own country’.”

“I was totally shocked because Brighton is a great city –it’s vibrant, multicultural and tolerant.

“All my experiences in the city over the years have been very positive and I’ve never experienced anything like it.

“It was quite shocking.”

The 38-year-old described the abusive man as white and in his mid-thirties.

Mr Shafiq said he logged the incident on a hate crime website, but could not remember the name of it when asked by The Argus. 

The father-of-four said normally he would try to talk to people, but feared the man might have a knife.

He said: “In most circumstances I would have had a dialogue with this person but emotions were running high and I didn’t know if he had a knife.

“I would have said to him I’m a father myself – I’ve got a daughter the same age as one of the victims – and I can barely imagine anybody who would support such actions.

“Human life is sacred and whatever our faith we should respect life. Yes there are evil people out there who see it as a valid crime but you cannot blame all muslims for the actions of a very small minority.”

On Wednesday, the Manchester-based Ramadhan Foundation held a multi-faith vigil in remembrance of the victims outside Manchester Town Hall.

Mr Shafiq said he wanted people of all faiths to come together in solidarity and unity.

He said: “Terrorists want to divide communities and pit them against each other. We must not allow them to do that.”

Sussex Police said they had no report of the incident.