Dimitris Legakis suffered two broken arms and facial injuries (Picture: Dimitris Legakis/Athena Pictures)

A Premier League football club’s official photographer was called a ‘smelly foreigner’ and beaten up in a horrific racist attack.

Dimitris Legakis, 41, was left with two broken arms and severe facial injuries after being attacked by racist 29-year-old Daniel Skelton.

The Swansea City photographer and father-of-two was walking through Middlesborough on the eve of a match, when he happened to see Skelton smashing a car’s windscreen.

Legakis started taking photos from a distance in order to give to the police, when Skelton stormed over and shouted: ‘Why have you come to this country and why are you taking pictures of me!’




Teeside Crown Court heard that Skelton then launched a ‘sustained and vicious’ assault on Legakis after hearing his Greek accent.

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A microphone on Legakis’s camera recorded Skelton calling him a ‘smelly foreigner’ before beating him up.

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Prosecutor Emma Atkinson said: ‘He [Skelton] repeatedly punched and kicked him to his body and head. At one point Skelton threatened to kill him.’

Skelton was jailed for 28 months after admitting racially aggravated grievous bodily harm.

Legakis, who came to the UK 17 years ago, was unable to work for eight weeks after the attack just before Christmas last year. His cameras were also damaged in the attack, leaving him with a £3,500 repair bill.

Legakis suffered two broken arms (Picture: Dimitris Legakis/Athena Pictures)

Daniel Skelton at his first court appearance (Picture: Dimitris Legakis/Athena Pictures)

A letter written by Skelton to his victim said: ‘I’m truly sorry. I had no right to touch you or your belongings – I was in a very bad place.

‘If I could take it back I would. I hate myself for my actions that night.’

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Speaking after the his attacker’s sentencing, Legakis said the attack had had a ‘deep, long-lasting effect on me’.

‘I love living in the UK and I have always been made very welcome here,’ he said.

‘But it made me realise that some people hear a foreign accent and think they can assault you. It has affected my confidence, and cost me about £13,000 in lost income and damage.’

Legakis also thanked the Swansea players and officials who supported him after the attack.