Police search for man who threw rotten pork meat at mosque

Police investigating a religiously-aggravated hate crime in which a bag of rotten pork meat was thrown at a mosque are appealing for information.

A man approached Finsbury Park mosque in north London at about 4.15 am on May 26th several times and waited until there was no one around, before throwing the bag on to the steps.

The man, who ran off towards Rock Street, is described as being in his late 30s, white, bearded and around 5ft 9ins tall.

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Screen grabbed image taken from CCTV issued by the metropolitan police of man who threw a bog of rotten pork meat at Finsbury Park mosque in North London in May. Photograph: Metropolitan Police/PA

Officers said he was wearing a light-coloured woollen hat, light-coloured coat with a folded-down collar, light-coloured trousers and dark shoes.

They have released CCTV images of a man they would like to speak to in connection with the incident.

Detective Inspector Ralph Coates of Islington community safety unit said: “We take hate crime extremely seriously as we know how destructive these offences can be, both to individuals and to communities.

“I would urge anyone who recognises this man or has any information that will help the investigation to contact police.”