Police to review Bradford pig’s head ‘hate crime’ case

Sophia Ditta claims the incident at her home in Bradford was not treated as a priority by West Yorkshire Police and that officers did not have the resources to investigate properly.

Her MP David Ward has now spoken to a senior officer about the case after claiming the case “was not handled well”.

Mr Ward, MP for Bradford East, said: “It is shocking to hear that some families have been targeted in such a disgusting way. No one should have to suffer because of their faith or race.

“I have met with the Divisional Commander, Chief Superintendent Simon Atkin, who shares my sentiments that this was not handled well, and he has told me that they will be reviewing this.”

Members of the Ditta family discovered the pig heads on their front and back doorstop at their home in the Bolton area of the city. They later found another two in a bag, placed in bushes.

The family have been living in the city for decades but have never been the target of racism. It is thought the incident may have been a reaction to the murder of soldier Lee Rigby in London.

Miss Ditta said: “I’m disappointed with the police’s systematic reaction to this racial harassment. The officers were sympathetic, but they clearly have a lack of resources to do anything which means this type of attack falls way below their list of priorities.

“I don’t blame any of the officers, I blame the systems they are being forced to work to.”

Mr Atkin said: “I visited MP David Ward about an unrelated matter and during that visit he understandably raised his concerns over this issue.”

He said a Neighbourhood Policing Chief Inspector was looking into the case to “ensure a comprehensive and thorough investigation has and still is being undertaken” and see if lessons should learned. He said: “Such a review is not unusual.”