A man has admitted spraying racist graffiti on the door of a flat days after the residents moved in.

Appearing at Manchester magistrates court on Thursday, Vaughan Dowd pleaded guilty to charges of criminal damage and racially aggravated criminal damage. He was remanded in custody for his own protection.

Dowd, 54, wearing jeans and a brown jumper and shirt, spoke only to confirm his name and details and to plead guilty to the offence in Salford on 8 February.

The court heard Dowd, of Salford, painted the slur on the front door of the home of Jackson Yamba, 38, originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, five days after he moved from a neighbouring block to the same block where the defendant lived, in Irlams o’ th’ Height in Salford.

After seeing the graffiti as they were leaving the flat, Yamba said his 10-year-old son, David, became tearful. Yamba said the attack had left him fearful and angry.

The district judge, Mark Hadfield, said the sentencing powers of the magistrates court were insufficient to deal with the case and he ordered Dowd be dealt with at Manchester crown court at a later date.



The court heard the victim saw “no blacks” painted on his front door in white paint as he was leaving for work on the morning of 8 February. The same graffiti was also daubed on an internal communal door and the entry door to the block of flats where he lives.

Ann Deakin, prosecuting, said inquiries were made by police and through CCTV records and building access records. Deakin said the CCTV showed Dowd covering his face to carry out the attack before returning to the flats with his face uncovered.

In a victim impact statement, Yamba said: “This incident has left me feeling very angry. The idea someone has the audacity to attack my front door of my home address and target me in this way has affected me in a lasting way. I’m now constantly on edge and worried about every little noise outside and it has affected my ability to sleep.”

Hadfield said the attack was clearly premeditated and deliberate and this should be considered in sentencing. “He deliberately targeted the flat … and caused serious distress to two people, one of whom we now know is a child,” he said. “It clearly appears to be planned [as the graffiti] was daubed on three doors. I think this takes it to a very high level of sentencing.”

Hadfield told him: “I’m satisfied a remand in custody is necessary for your own protection.”

Deakin said a possible bail address in south Manchester for Dowd was inappropriate because of the “ethnic diversity” of the area, adding: “There’s a clear risk to the defendant’s safety. Greater Manchester Police has received complaints from America – that’s how far it’s gone viral about the victims being abused in this way.”

Dowd’s defence lawyer, Lorna Wincote, argued he should be entitled to “small credit” owing to a lack of previous convictions and similar conduct. She said there were no issues around alcohol or substance misuse, but said underlying mental health problems could have motivated the attack.

Dowd was assessed in custody by the NHS clinical psychologist Caroline Barber. “There is evidence of underlying health around depression and anxiety, and referrals have been made to his GP,” she said.