Sign up to FREE email alerts from KentLive - Daily Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A cafe on Walmer seafront has been decorated with diversity messages in response to a disgusting racist nickname.

Pete St Ange, 55, revealed to Kent Live last month that his business, formerly a public toilet, was being referred to as 'w** in the bog'.

The father-of-two has since decided to take a stand by adorning his cafe with anti-racism and equality messages, and has since renamed the business to the Sea Cafe Coffee Shop.

He said: “This is the start of my oneness campaign which is all about celebrating our differences.

“It is taking the whole concept of diversity, and saying it is a normal reality rather than a problem.

“I have had this idea for about a year now. But when I heard about the nickname for my café, it brought the idea more to the forefront.”

Mr St Ange, who moved to Deal from West Norwood, London, 17 years ago, also said he was also racially attacked last year but decided not to report it to the police.

He said: “I don’t have a hard time. But after an attack, which I didn’t want to go to the police about, it sowed the seed of a high need to highlight this issue.

'Racism is real and it needs to be faced down'

“Racism is real and it needs to be faced down. We can’t afford to ignore it, and we can’t stop trying to remind people that we are all part of the same thing.”

The decorations outside his cafe signs reading "oneness of love knows no colour", which shows two black and white arms shaking hands.

Mr St Ange has also displayed religious symbols and a gay pride flag to show tolerance of people's sexuality and different religions.

Speaking last month, he said: “I have directly come across racism on a personal level. I was handed a note from one of my customers that told me there is some locals that don’t come to the café because its nicknamed the w** on the bog, with it being an ex-toilet building.

“My customer was crying and couldn’t say it so he wrote it down, and passed me a piece of paper.

“There are worse things to be called, but it’s the connotations around it.

“It can be seen as a bit of banter and a bit of a laugh, but I feel this is possibly harming my business."

The 55-year-old now hopes to give talks in schools about "accepting differences", and will be speaking at anti-racism workshop Calling Time on Racism in Ramsgate.

He also hopes to turn his cafe into a place where people can report racial and religious hatred.