POLICE officers educated a teenager about equality and inclusivity after he published a racist comment on social media following a football match.

Essex Police officers based in Braintree partnered with anti-racism organisation Kick It Out to work with a young sports fan who had tweeted a discriminatory statement.

Kick It Out is the leading equality and inclusion charity in English football and strives throughout the game and wider society to challenge racism.

On this occasion the young person had been previously unknown to the police but came to their attention after making racist comment online after a football match.

Using ‘restorative justice’, which has been proven to reduce reoffending, the force and the organisation spoke to the teenager about his actions and the consequences.