A Middlesbrough family cut its holiday to Blackpool short after suffering a “disgusting” barrage of racist abuse.
Imtiaz Hussain, his English wife Barbara and their three daughters had just arrived in the seaside town and were taking their first walk on the beach when they were confronted.
Mrs Hussain was racially abused and two of her daughters who were wearing headscarves were taunted with “Ban the Burka” chants.
The racially aggravated abuse came from two 23-year-old women from Blackpool, Lancs.
Then the incident next to Blackpool’s North Pier escalated with young men joining in shouting “EDL” and “BNP”.
At one stage the family was surrounded and had nowhere to escape until Coastguard officers intervened and called police.
The Hussain family’s three daughters were all in tears as both their mother and father were challenged to fights and threatened with being bottled.
Natalie Wilkinson of Boundary Court, Blackpool, appeared at Blackpool Magistrates’ Court and admitted three charges of racially aggravated threatening behaviour and disorder.
She was sent for sentence at Preston Crown Court because she is already on a suspended jail term.
Nicola Lloyd, of Claremont Court, Blackpool, was found guilty in her absence and the magistrates issued a warrant for her arrest.
The court heard that the Mr Hussain, director of Sola UK Ltd, in Marton Road, Middlesbrough, and his family were so upset by what happened that they returned home after just one day of their week-long holiday.
The youngest daughter will no longer wear a headscarf because of what happened.
Prosecutor Alison Quanbrough told how the two women abusers had been drinking before they targeted the Hussain’s with a barrage of foul language and racist threats and comments.
Giving evidence Mr Hussain said: “It was a lovely day and we were just walking down the beach on our first day in Blackpool.
“There were shouts of Ban the Burka - two of my children were wearing scarves of their own free will but one of them won’t any more because of this.”
“We had done nothing to deserve this - we had done nothing.
“The two women looked drunk or on drugs.”
His wife Barbara said in court “We felt victimised and intimidated.
“One of them wanted to fight.”
And their 17-year-old daughter Sabrina said in evidence: “We were scared.
“The woman with black hair was screaming. They seemed to want my Dad to hit them. They were egging him on. I was embarrassed everyone on the beach which was packed was watching what was going on.”
“There was nowhere for us to go and lads were shouting BNP and EDL.”
“It was only when the Coastguard officers turned up it all stopped.”
Chairman of the magistrates’ bench Ron Bell said: “We find the cases against the absent defendant proved and issue a warrant for her arrest.
“What happened here was disgusting. Blackpool prides itself on being a family resort.”
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