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An A-level student who has a beard said he has been shocked by the racist abuse directed at him since the UK voted to leave the EU .

William Rice, 17, from Bridgend , said a man shouted “Brexit” at him while he was on his way to school in his uniform and then told the Brynteg Comprehensive pupil he’d “voted to get your kind out of here”.

Later the same day, William said a man drove past him in a white van and shouted: “Go back home you p*** Muslim immigrant.”

William, from Waunscil Avenue, Bridgend, is white and believes he has been targeted because of his beard as racial hate crimes have risen across the UK in the wake of the Leave campaign’s victory in the referendum.

He said the incidents, on Monday, June 27, have left him acutely aware of “these horrible people that are racist towards anyone”.

‘I voted to get your kind out of here’

First Minister Carwyn Jones has strongly condemned an upsurge in hateful racist incidents on the streets of Wales, saying people from overseas and from ethnic minorities are welcome here.

William, who is studying computer science, drama, English language and literature, said the first incident occurred on Monday morning just outside his school. He said: “I was rushing into school and this guy with grey hair and a grey suit looks at me and just shouts the word Brexit.

“He said, ‘I voted to get your kind out of here’.

“I was taken aback and replied, ‘What, white British people?’ and he said ‘no, immigrants’.”

William said he responded that his mother was from London and his father from Wolverhampton.

He said that afternoon as he was standing at the traffic lights at the junction of Waunscil Avenue and Coychurch Road he had abuse shouted at him from a van.

“I don’t know what they were thinking,” he added.

Police taking matter 'extremely seriously'

A police spokesman said: “South Wales Police is treating this matter extremely seriously and an investigation was conducted to trace the person responsible.

“At this stage there are no further lines of enquiry, however, support is being offered to the victim in this case by specially trained hate crime officers.

“South Wales has a long and proud tradition of strong, diverse communities and we will not tolerate any criminal actions that undermine this.

“All forms of hate crime are totally unacceptable in any circumstances and any victim can have confidence in reporting incidents to us so they can be fully investigated and robust action taken against those responsible.”