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A German woman who has lived in the UK for 43 years broke down today as she told how she is now "living in fear over race hate" since the Brexit vote.

The sobbing elderly woman - known only as Karen - called talk radio station LBC in tears about the xenophobia she has experienced since Friday.

In the distressing phone call which will shock, she explained how she is "so scared" and now "frightened" to leave her home - and has even been "told to go home" to Germany.

Karen - a widower who was married to a GP - says that since the UK voted to leave the EU, she has had dog excrement thrown at her house and that neighbours have said they can no longer be friends with her.

She also claimed to have called the German Embassy and Citizen's Advice Bureau for help.

She told the phone-in with presenter James O'Brien: "I came from Germany in 1973, my late husband was British. I have lived here for 43 years and I'm so scared now.

"Friends of mine say they can't be friends with me any more. I'm so frightened.

"I got dog poo thrown at my door on Friday. I've been told to go back home. I've got nobody in Germany.

"I phoned up the Germany Embassy and they just say 'you've made your bed, you lie in it'.

"I've phoned up the Citizens Advice Bureau and they told me I have to understand that people are frustrated.

"I'm so, so scared. I haven't been out of the house for three days because I don't know what to do."

Karen added that she is middle class and it is "middle-class pensioners" who are targeting her.

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She said: "My neighbours told me they don't want me living in this road and they are not friends with foreigners."

Karen also claims - in the audio above - a friend's seven-year-old grandson has been beaten up "for having a foreign grandmother".

She said: "My friend Rosemary got a grandson, who's seven, who got beaten up because he's got a foreign grandmother.

"I'm so scared because I don't know what is going to happen next.

"I never had any problems. I don't understand what is going on. I'm so sorry I don't want to be hysterical."

James was joined in studio by Simon Woolley from Operation Black Vote - as they discussed the reported rise in race hate crimes since the Brexit vote.

Simon reacted: "She needs support, she needs the authorities to ensure that she can be safe and feel safe in this country... because she and others deserve better having lived here, worked here and loved our country.

"It breaks my heart to hear her being subject to this level of nasty."

"What's happened is James is it's normalised. Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson..."

James interjects: "(Farage's) married to a white German."

Simon interrupts: "No, they've normalised this. And this is how it's translating. Fifty years we've fought for race equality.

"And you have on your programme - in 2016 - a good woman desperate in tears because she fears going out of her front door for no other reason than being German."

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The four-minue phone call ends with James trying to alleviate Karen's fears - assuring her that it is a minority of Brits - "10-15% of the population" - who think this way, and that she is not on her own.

He tells her: "You are not on your own - you might be physically alone, but you are not on your own spiritually, emotionally or politically.

"The huge majority of people in this country - however they voted on Thursday - are alongside you, they are with you.

"And they can't be in your sitting room at this moment - except through the speaker of a radio - but they are more representative of the country of which you are part and the people who your late husband tried to treat and cure... they are your compatriots and they are your true neighbours."

Listeners erupted on social media with consternation. One, Tony Carroll, posted: "Utterly shocked at the poor German lady calling @mrjamesob@LBC this morning. Time for a bit more leadership from a few politicians."

Another, Simon Grierson, posted: "Karen could have been my own German grandmother, who lived here most of her life. Very upsetting to hear. What is wrong with people?"

A spokesman for the German Embassy said: "I wish to emphasize how sorry we are to hear about the distress of the German lady phoning in to LBC and we wish to heartily apologise if any of this distress has been caused by communication with our embassy.

"We are investigating the case but haven’t found any clear evidence of it yet on our side.

"Let me stress however that the wording we heard does not represent the position of the German Embassy, and our employees are certainly not instructed to communicate along these lines."

Citizens Advice Director of Operations, Michele Shambrook, said: “We are very sorry to hear about Karen’s experiences of discrimination.



“At Citizens Advice we stand up and speak out for those who face inequality or disadvantage. Following the EU referendum result we are are actively monitoring any discrimination issues people are turning to us with so we can understand and help anyone who might be affected.



“We are following up with LBC in order to reach out to Karen and offer her further support.”