Muslim woman victim of morning hate crime assault in London's Oxford Street

Police are appealing for information after a Muslim woman was the victim of a hate crime assault in one of London's busiest streets. At around 8.15am on 4 October, the woman, aged in her 40s, was walking alone in Oxford Street when she was approached by a man who repeatedly told her to remove her hijab.

After she refused, the suspect became more aggressive and grabbed the woman's headscarf and attempted to remove it by force. He was unsuccessful, but did manage to unpin the scarf.

The woman managed to escape unharmed but was left "shocked and distressed" by the incident which police are treating as an Islamophobic hate crime.

The suspect is described as a white man, aged between 30-40 years, with short black greased-back hair. He was approximately 5ft 5ins tall and of medium build. He was wearing a grey sweatshirt and light blue jeans.

Detective Sergeant Steve Stamp of Westminster's Community Safety Unit said: "This was an unprovoked and hate-filled attack in broad daylight in the middle of a busy street. The woman was targeted by this suspect purely based on what she was wearing.

"Racially and religiously motivated crimes will not be tolerated. I would appeal to anyone who witnessed this attack to contact police. "

Anyone with information is asked to contact Westminster Police via 101 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.