A HOUSING group is offering its support to victims or witnesses of hate crimes.

Greenfields Community Housing will be offering its headquarters in Charter Way, Braintree, as a place to report incidents and has trained seven members of staff to be hate crime ambassadors.

The housing association is working with Essex Police on the scheme and says anyone can use the service unless there is a health and safety risk.

A spokesman added: "Greenfields provides a confidential area to interview victims and take reports, while ensuring all information is stored in accordance with Data Protection requirements.

"If a victim or witness does not consent to their personal details being disclosed to the police and partner agencies, then the report can be forwarded anonymously, obscuring personal and identifying details.

"If there’s a risk of serious harm, information can be shared with Essex Police without consent."

For more information, contact 01376 535400.