A DISABLED woman was spat at in the street and called “scrounger scum” after being mistaken for someone on benefits.

Details of the distressing incident have been released by leaders of a Daily Echo-backed campaign to curb crimes committed against people because of their race, sexuality or disability.

Southampton has been named as the second worst city in the UK for hate crime. Only Liverpool has a bigger problem.

The woman, who wants to remain anonymous, said she was targeted after going shopping with her husband and sister.

She said: “We had lunch and then went our separate ways to do our own thing before meeting up again later.

“I was right in the centre of Southampton, heading towards a shop a bit further up.

Daily Echo:

“I saw a group coming towards me and moved out of the way. There were probably about six males, all aged about 16-18.

“One of them said ‘there’s another one’ and when they got closer they all shouted ‘scrounger scum’. As they went past one of them spat at me.

“We rang the police, who were very good. A PC took it seriously and wanted to know all the details.

“But about four days later he rang me to say the CCTV camera covering the area where the incident occurred had been broken for a week and the one covering the entrance of the shopping centre was too far away.

“Shortly after the incident we went on holiday and I tried to forget about it.

“The week we came back we went into Southampton and I wouldn’t leave my husband’s side. I wouldn’t go back to the spot where the incident had occurred.

“I’m not unemployed but they didn’t know that - I could have been a millionaire for all they knew.

“I think they assumed that because I’m disabled I’m a benefit claimant and it’s my fault the country is in the mess it is.”

Almost 600 hate crimes in Southampton were reported in 2016-17 - a 30 per cent increase on the previous 12 months.

The new campaign, Love Don’t Hate, is headed by the SPECTRUM Centre for Independent Living, which aims to ensure disabled people lead full, independent lives free from discrimination.

Groups have joined forces with the aim of raising awareness and improving the reporting process.

Ian Loynes, chief executive of SPECTRUM, said: “It is unacceptable that in a city like Southampton people are being allowed to get away with treating others unfairly and maliciously because of their differences. We want those personally affected by hate crime - and those witnessing it - to speak out.”

The campaign has established a network of 18 centres in Southampton where people can report hate crime and access support.