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A man has been found guilty of racially abusing former Exeter City player Ollie Watkins.

Christopher Boyes, 32, from Southampton, appeared at Uxbridge Crown Court yesterday and was sentenced to a five-year Football Banning Order and a 200-hour Community Service Order having been found guilty of abusing Watkins, who now plays for Brentford, against Derby County in September.

Under hate crime sentencing powers, Boyes saw his punishment increased from 150 hours of unpaid work to 200 hours following an application for an uplift to the sentence by the Crown Prosecution Service.

He was also fined £175 and ordered to pay £100 compensation to Watkins.

London Crown Prosecution Service lawyer, Matthew Groves, said: "This sentence sends out a clear message; hate crimes are serious offences and will not be tolerated.

"The words used by Boyes were racist, offensive and antagonistic. He will now pay for his actions through an increased sentence and he will also be prohibited from being a spectator at football matches.

"I hope this prosecution empowers victims of hate crimes to come forward and stop others from also being subjected to vile abuse."

Boyes was watching the game from the away end and was arrested at the game, pleading guilty in October.

A club statement from the Bees welcomed the sentence and said it deplores discrimination of any kind.

It said: "There can be no place for racism within football or society and the club supports the strictest measures to eradicate racism from the game.

"The club would also like to thank and commend the authorities for their swift response to the original incident."

Watkins has been in phenomenal form for his new club, scoring seven goals in 17 appearances for the Bees - including the equaliser in the 1-1 draw with the Rams on September 26.