POLICE have said they will take no action over the burning of effigies of politicians at Lewes Bonfire which was reported as a hate crime.

Some internet users were appalled by models of Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg going up in flames at the celebrations on November 5 and one reported it to the police.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I just think it’s wrong to set people on fire, even a paper version.

“Killing people isn’t what Guy Fawkes Day is about.”

The man who reported the burning of the effigy referred to the burning of the Grenfell Tower model in London. Six people were arrested in connection with that.

The man said: “I know that police have a lot of serious crime to investigate like that cardboard box model of Grenfell Tower that was set on fire, but it’s good that they focus on the important crimes.

“I just think it’s wrong to insult our politicians like that.

“You never see behaviour

like that in the House of Commons.”

The term hate crime can be used to describe a range of criminal behaviour where the perpetrator is motivated by hostility or demonstrates hostility towards someone’s disability, race, religion, sexual orientation or transgender identity.

Some police forces record hate incidents based on other personal characteristics such as age.

The man said: “I think these new laws are good and it’s good to use them.”

But Sussex Police said they would not be taking the matter further.

A spokeswoman said: “Following assessment and review, the incident does not meet the threshold for recording a crime and is not a hate incident and therefore is not being investigated.”

Asked about comparisons with the Grenfell incident, she said: “We would not be able to comment on incidents from other forces.

“Every matter reported to police will always be judged on its individual merits.”

The Lewes Borough Bonfire Society has previously said it burned tableaux at the

November 5 celebrations, not effigies.

A spokesman said: “We create tableaux and there’s a difference between a tableau and an effigy.

“Guy Fawkes was an effigy but a tableau is a talking point.

“It can represent the good and the great, the bad and the evil, and can be about local or national issues.

“Anybody who thinks they are a hate crime needs to go back down the rabbit hole which they came from.”

There were 94,098 hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales in the 12 months leading up to March, 2018.

This was a 123 per cent increase on the same figure from 2012 to 2013.