Three jailed for 'horrific campaign' of bullying against Muslim workmate

Victims of workplace hate crimes were urged not to suffer in silence tonight after three men were jailed for a horrific campaign of bullying against a Muslim colleague.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the three-year sentences handed to road workers Lee McDermott, Phillip Skett and Sean Melaney showed how seriously the courts would treat such offences.

Wolverhampton Crown Court was told the men waged a 10-month campaign of intimidation against a 29-year-old colleague at a motorway maintenance depot in Bescot, Walsall.

The man was tied to railings, hosed down with cold water and was even subjected to an attempt to force-feed him bacon after resigning from his job, the court heard.

Some of the bullying, which also included racist comments and the placing of an item which resembled a bomb on the victim's locker, was filmed on a mobile phone camera.

Melaney, 28, of Kingstanding, West Midlands, McDermott, 31, of Rowley Regis, West Midlands, and 38-year-old Skett, of Erdington, Birmingham, pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to a charge of racially-aggravated harassment covering nine events which took place between August 2005 and July 2006.

Speaking after the case, the District Crown Prosecutor for the Black Country, Colin Molloy, urged anyone who was subjected to workplace harassment to report their tormentors to the police.

Describing the treatment meted out to the victim as appalling, Mr Molloy said: "It lasted over a protracted length of time and a person was put through incredible misery.

"It was a very prolonged and persistent attack, where the victim was picked upon simply because of his race.

"They put this man in danger with deliberate and considered actions and the consequences were both serious and long-lasting for the victim."

Mr Molloy said the CPS would be very supportive of any member of the public who was subjected to similar bullying.

The prosecuting authorities would "tenaciously and robustly" prosecute those responsible for criminal offences committed against colleagues, the prosecutor added.