Sheffield councillor left 'shaken and scared' after being racially abused in city centre

Green Party Councillor Kaltum Rivers, who represents Broomhill and Sharrow Vale, said the incident took place at the Moor outdoor market on Saturday afternoon (12 September).

She was repeatedly told she "shouldn't be in this country" and called a ‘b**** and a crafty migrant’ in an unprovoked attack while she waited for her son outside a shop.

Coun Rivers said: "There are so many people who are really annoyed with immigrants. It was really quite upsetting. I was just gobsmacked.

"If you are judging people, it’s like judging a book by its cover. If he emailed me or called me, I would be the first person to go and help him.”

Coun Rivers said she has since been contacted by police, who are looking into the incident.

She added: "You can’t just attack someone because of the colour of their skin. I didn’t do anything to him.

"This shouldn’t happen in our city, which is an amazing city. How many other people is he doing that to?”

Several people in the market approached her to see if she was OK and apologised for the man’s behaviour following the attack.

"Like anyone who’s been in that situation, you understand it makes you shaken and scared,” she said.

The man, who was a customer in the market, quickly left after Coun Rivers’ son returned, she said.

"That shows he’s only attacking women. He wouldn’t say that to a guy so it’s a gender and race issue.

"It’s quite upsetting because I’m trying to bring kids up in this amazing city of Sheffield, there’s thousands of people who are brilliant but it’s a minority who stand out and give the city a bad name.”

She added: "The majority of Sheffielders aren’t like that. Racism is racism, it needs to be called out.”

There were almost 200 more reports of hate crime in South Yorkshire in 2019, compared to the previous year, according to a report from Sheffield City Council.

The Star has contacted South Yorkshire Police for comment.