A 46-year-old man has been arrested and charged after allegations he racially abused a Polish woman in a Stevenage supermarket.

Darren Balaam – from York Road in Stevenage – has been charged with causing racially aggravated harassment, alarm and distress after being filmed by a 31-year-old woman of Polish origin who has lived in the town for more than five years.

The woman, who when speaking to the Comet wanted only to be known as Marta, had been shopping at Aldi in Fairlands Way with her family and a friend when the incident occurred at about 7pm on Wednesday, January 18.

Mr Balaam was identified from the video footage and subsequently arrested and charged yesterday.

He has been released on police bail and is due to appear at Stevenage Magistrates’ Court on February 15.

Stevenage Neighbourhood Inspector Simon Tabert said: “I hope this reassures our local communities that we take all incidents of hate crime very seriously and will always investigate where appropriate. We would urge people to always report a crime to the police in the first instance, so we can deal with it appropriately.

“If anyone was in the store at the time and witnessed this incident, please contact PC Jody Perrin on 101 quoting crime reference number E1/17/466. Alternatively you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”