Racism: Woman angry over abuse and police response

The mother of a woman who said she has been racially abused several times over the years wants authorities to take the issue more seriously.

Tattiana Alfaia said police were slow to respond when her daughter Gabriela Tavares, 19, complained after being abused in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire.

Dyfed-Powys Police said it regretted it had been unable to respond within its 48-hour target time due to high demand.

It said hate crime was taken seriously and inquiries in the case were ongoing.

Ms Tavares said she was left "in a complete mess" when an argument with another customer at the town's Greenfield Inn led to a racist slur being used against her over the May bank holiday weekend.

The pub has declined to comment.

"I'm upset but I'm also angry," said Ms Tavares.

She said it was the latest in a number of incidents that have left her feeling deflated and wanting to move away from the area where she has grown up.

Ms Tavares is studying hairdressing and hopes to carry on her studies in Birmingham later this year.

"There's no excuse for making fun of someone's skin colour," she said.

"It makes me feel like I'm not as good as the other person.

"I can't help the colour of my skin. It makes me feel deflated, like I don't want to be here. I just want to move away."

Three years ago, a 16-year-old Ms Tavares and her younger sister were in a park when two boys started making fun of her.

She said one boy was "calling me a monkey, throwing peanuts at me, calling me the n-word".

"My sister had never experienced anything like that - she was really upset," Ms Tavares said.

Ms Alfaia said both the park and pub incidents had been reported to police and an officer from Dyfed-Powys Police contacted them more than a week after the latest incident.

"I would like the police to take this more seriously," she said.

"I'd like these people to be told it's not acceptable. I'd like to see more action - people apologising to Gabby.

"If you call someone the n-word and nothing happens to you, you're just going to carry on saying it."

Dyfed-Powys Police said it was alerted to the complaint on 2 May and a hate crime support officer made contact on 6 May.

A spokesman said officers from the neighbourhood policing team attended the venue to begin inquiries last week and investigations were continuing.

Ms Tavares was contacted again on 10 May with an inspector also making contact the following day to "discuss her concerns and apologise for the delay in the initial contact", the force added.

On Wednesday, the police and crime commissioner for the area defended the force after inspectors found it had documented just 87.6% of reported crime.

Ms Tavares said she thought there was a complacency in her local community about racism.

"It's more common than you think," she said.

The BBC Action Line has details of organisations that offer information and support in connection with racism and racist hate crime.