Copies of Qur’an ripped up and windows smashed during incident on Monday night

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Six teenagers have been arrested after an Islamic centre was ransacked and copies of the Qur’an were ripped up and windows smashed.

The incident happened at Bahr Academy on Benwell Lane, Newcastle, at 9pm on Monday.

Northumbria police were treating the incident as a hate crime and said there was significant damage to the building.

In January, there was a similar break-in and vandalism at the centre. The offenders were never caught.

The force said an 18-year-old woman, two 16-year-old boys, two 14-year-old boys and a 14-year-old girl had been arrested and remained in police custody.

Alan Davison, a neighbourhood inspector, said: “This is a very distressing incident for members of the Bahr Academy, particularly as it is the second break-in this year.

“Although there is not the same racist graffiti as we saw in the first incident, we are treating this as a hate crime. We are aware of the impact incidents of this nature can have on the community and I want to be clear that this type of behaviour is completely unacceptable.”

Officers will work with the academy to put measures in place to protect the centre and police will carry out high-visibility patrols.