RACIST GRAFFITI AND a pig’s head were discovered at a community centre in East Belfast yesterday in an incident the PSNI have labelled as a hate crime.

The damage at Inverary Community Centre saw its windows and walls daubed with swastikas and slogans reading “no blacks” and “no muslims”.

The offending graffiti has since been removed.

Northern Ireland police have said they were first notified about the incident early yesterday morning.

“At approximately 5am it was reported to police that graffiti had been daubed on the walls of a building and a pig’s head had been placed against the shutters of the building,” Inspector Ian McCormick said in a statement, adding that it is being treated as a hate crime.

Hate crime, in all its forms, is totally unacceptable. It is the responsibility of each and every one of us to ensure that we live in a society where diversity is respected. If you or someone you know is the victim of a hate crime please contact police or your local support agency.

Local DUP councillor George Dorrian shared images of the racist graffiti and said those responsible were attempting to “stir hatred”.

“With so much good going on the area, including the football coaching of hundreds of kids every week, it is disappointing to think that there are still those who creep around in the middle of the night, damaging property and attempting to stir hatred against those who have joined our community,” he said in a Facebook post.

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