Terrified Muslim family flee home after cross wrapped in ham is left on their doorstep

Racist abuse scrawled on driveway and family screamed at in street

Father finds young son plotting escape routes from house

Murad Alam, 39, said he had to explain racism to his two children



A Muslim family have fled their home after a cross wrapped in ham was left on their doorstep.

The shocking incident took place in the normally sedate market town of Bingham, Notts, recently named eighth in a survey of the best places in England to raise children.

Murad Alam, 39, said he had been forced to move his wife and two sons, aged eight and 10, to a 'safer' area.

Nasty: Racist graffiti was scrawled on the driveway and locals screamed abuse at the children in the street

The family said they were the target of more racial abuse after the cross was left outside their suburban home last December, despite calling in the police.

Racist graffiti was scrawled on their driveway and locals screamed insults at the children in the street.

Consumption of pork and ham or any 'flesh of swine' is forbidden by Islam.



In the wake of the intimidation, Mr Alam said he found his young son plotting escape routes from the house and neighbourhood on his computer.

Mr Alam said: 'My wife and children also had names called at them in the street.

'The first incident was when the big, wooden cross, wrapped in ham, fell into the house after a knock at the door.'

He said they had names such as 'Paki' and 'tramp' shouted at them in the street.

Mr Alam said his wife and children, who he did not want to be named, had been left 'terrified' by the attacks.

He said: 'The kids have been abused a number of times; the eldest had smoke blown in his face by an elderly local gentleman.

'It really annoys me that they should use a cross and try and turn this into a religious argument.

'My family were terrified from the very first incident; my wife had never experienced racism, neither had my kids.

'In fact I had to explain to my children what racism even was, because they're so young they didn't understand the concept that someone could dislike you because of your skin colour or religion.'

The family has now moved to nearby West Bridgford, a suburb of Nottingham, where they say they feel safe.

Mr Alam said Bingham was generally a pleasant place with a good reputation and it was a shame it had been tarred by their experiences.

Despite being rated in the top-ten places to raise children by finance firm Family Investments, Mr Alam said there were some who spoiled it.

'The week before we moved there, Bingham was named the eighth best place to live in the UK - but that's if you're white - there are not many Asian or black faces there.

'It is a nice, generally middle-class village and I'm sure most of the people there are great, it's just these choice few.'

Nottinghamshire Police said a 13-year-old boy had been arrested in connection with the attacks but he was later released without charge.

Mr Alam said he had nothing but gratitude for the police involved in his family's case.

He added: 'Nottinghamshire Police fitted secret cameras, security lighting and after the graffiti, they were literally parked at the end of the alley for days, 24/7.

'It's just a shame that no-one has come forward to name the people who are behind it.'

Fiyaz Mughal, director of Tell Mama, a national service that records and analyses anti-Muslim attacks, said: 'This is one of a number of cases that we have seen where the anti-Muslim prejudice has had a shocking impact on the wider family.