£370,000 to fight race hate

The biggest ever attempt to combat race hate in Lancashire will be spearheaded by equality chiefs who have secured a £370,000 grant.

Preston and West Lancashire Racial Equality Council (REC) is celebrating a major cash injection from the Lottery's Reaching Communities programme, which will allow it to expand its Race Hate Awareness campaign for the next five years. It comes two years after the city was shamed as England's worst trouble spot for racist incidents – and 10 months after the British National Party secured votes in city elections.

A year ago the LEP revealed incidents in Lancashire's schools were also at an all-time high – with nearly 472 reported to the county's education authority in 2004/2005 compared to 351 the previous period. But the project aims to stop trends like this by educating the public, especially schoolchildren, on the effects of racism and prejudices.

Chief executive Faruk Desai MBE said: "The grant will enable us to provide much needed assistance to victims of racism.

"The funding will allow us to support the public sector in developing and implementing policies spanning much of Lancashire in order to make it a safer and cohesive place for all, and targeted outreach services will be provided through this funding to those district areas most in need."

Lancashire Evening Post