A man has been sentenced after he pleaded guilty to a racially aggravated public order offence.

Nathan Capewell, 40, of Coronation Square, Reading, was sentenced on Wednesday (05/10).

On November 14, 2021, Capewell attended a cash and carry store in Commercial Road, Swindon, and asked the cashier to exchange two £10 notes for a £20.

The cashier in question said he did not want to comply with Capewell, as he was suspicious of the request.

Capewell became aggressive and began shouting racial abuse towards the cashier.

A member of the public who witnessed the disorder approached a nearby police officer who attended the scene.

Capewell was given a community order that states he must comply with a drug rehabilitation requirement.

Speaking on the result of this case, the shopkeeper, who asked to remain anonymous, said: "I didn't know what to do at the time, I just wanted him out of the shop.

"It had never happened before.

"I would never have gotten him out of the shop without the police."

He added he was not happy with the sentence, since he does not feel like enough was done to prevent this from happening again.

In March 2022, there were 155,841 hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales within a year, a 26 per cent increase compared with the previous year.