Muslims were forced to hide inside their mosque after a naked man hurled abuse and threatened to hurt them.

The worshippers were left in fear and rushed inside the building after Dan Morrison shouted racially and religiously aggravated abuse and threatened them before stripping off.

Police described the incident at Folkestone Mosque as "a hate crime" as Morrison was sent to prison.

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Dan Morrison was jailed for a hate crime outside a mosque in Folkestone

The 26-year-old, of Grace Hill, Folkestone, was filmed singing "I'm Catholic til I die, and Christian as well" outside Folkestone Mosque at around 9pm on Friday, July 7.

He pleaded guilty to a charge of exposure and two further charges of racially aggravated threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour and religiously aggravated threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour.

Magistrates in Medway sentenced him to 26 weeks in prison and ordered him to pay a £115 victim surcharge.

A witness described the incident as "terrifying" as Morrison used "racist abuse at members of the mosque" from a nearby apartment.

He then went to the mosque, stripped naked and threatened violence to people outside the door.

One witness described the incident as like "a bad dream", saying: "Fear started to sink in as he was stripping naked and threatening to use violence. It was real.

"My friend got hurt when he was trying to stop the man from entering the mosque.

The group hid inside the mosque fearing violence after the man shouted racist abuse at them

"The man got extremely upset and he started to climb up the construction crane. My friend talked to the man and eventually managed to get him to climb down the crane and put his pants on.

"The man started crying. The police eventually arrived and he was arrested."

Folkestone Mosque was where the incident took place

Police confirmed they arrived within 12 minutes to the scene in Foord Road South.

Concerns were raised about the police response time by witnesses who claimed they took "so long to respond" that if he was armed "some people would have died".

Advice about how to report a hate crime is available via the Kent Police website.