A young man was racially-abused before being punched in the face in Carlisle city centre.

The victim, a 23-year-old who is originally from Portugal, was assaulted outside Nandos on Warwick Road at 3.15am on Saturday.

Police say there were a number of people in the area at the time and are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

It comes as Cumbria Police are raising awareness of hate crime and urging people to report any incidents to them.

As part of Hate Crime Awareness Week the force wants to reassure victims that support is available across the county.

Hate crimes are any crimes that are targeted at a person because of hostility or prejudice towards their disability, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation or gender identity.

PC Julie Dodd, diversity officer at Cumbria Constabulary, said everyone should be able to live their life free from harassment, and urged people not to let incidents go unreported.

“Reporting a hate crime directly to the police can feel like a daunting process for some. We recognise this as an issue which is why, in Cumbria, there are more than 50 Hate Incident Reporting Centres where people can report hate crime or incidents without having to contact the police directly.

“These centres offer a safe neutral location within the community where specially trained staff can assist people with reporting. Anybody can use this facility regardless of whether they are a victim, witness, or just someone who is aware of information that needs to be reported.”

Hate crimes include physical attacks, verbal abuse, damage to property, bullying and threats, abusive gestures and offensive letters, leaflets, emails and texts.

Detective Chief Inspector Roy Ledingham, force lead for hate crime, said national surveys suggest incidents often go unreported, which is something they are working with other organisations to change.

He added: “We take any incident of hate crime extremely seriously which is why we are always working to streamline and simplify the way incidents are reported to us. We go into schools and work with partner agencies to build knowledge of what a hate crime is how we can assist.”

Anyone with information about the Carlisle attack, or who wants to report another hate crime can call 101 or visit the Cumbria Police website - www.cumbria.police.uk - for more information.