Police in Northwich have released a CCTV image of a man they would like to speak to following reports of hate crime and criminal damage at a local restaurant

Police have released CCTV images of a man they want to speak to following an alleged hate crime at a Northwich restaurant.

The incident happened at around 10.40pm on Saturday, July 22, when two men and two women who all appeared to be intoxicated entered Zitano on the town’s High Street.

They sat down and asked for drinks to be brought to their table and when the waiter informed them they would need to order their drinks at the bar, one of the men became aggressive and damaged a phone belonging to the owners.

The man, and the rest of the group, then walked out of the bar, shouting abuse at the owner before damaging two signs outside the premises.

All of them proceeded to walk away in the direction of Northwich town centre.

PC Mark Brameld of Northwich Police said: “We take incidents of this nature extremely seriously and will not tolerate hate crime within our community. The victim was left extremely distressed as a result of the abuse that was shouted towards him and we are keen to trace the person responsible.

“Investigations into this incident are currently ongoing and as part of this I am keen to speak to the man featured in the CCTV image as I believe that he may hold vital information in relation to the investigation.

“I urge the man, or anyone who recognises him, to contact the team here at Northwich on 101 quoting incident number 1025 of 22/07/2017.”

Information can also be reported anonymously, via Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111.