A 17-year-old girl has appeared at Stevenage Youth Court after being charged with a hate-related crime.

In February this year, the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, racially abused a shopkeeper in Stevenage town centre.

She was arrested and charged with racially aggravated public order, to which she pleaded guilty in court.

She was given a referral order and ordered to pay compensation to the shopkeeper.

Stevenage hate crime officer PC Lewis Thomson said: "Hate crime will not be tolerated in Stevenage. It can leave the victim feeling unsafe or scared to go out, and cause fear and mistrust amongst different parts of the community.

"We want people to know that we take it seriously and have specialist support for those who have been affected by it.

"We would urge anyone who has been a victim of hate crime to report it to us immediately."

You can report hate crime online at herts.police.uk/ro/report, or call the non-emergency number 101.