An anonymous leaflet campaign targeting a couple who have run a south London convenience shop for nearly two decades is being investigated as a suspected hate crime after sparking widespread outrage in the local community.
The leaflets contained a series of unfounded allegations about Pritesh and Himaliben Patel, who manage the Londis store on Upper Elmers End Road in Beckenham.
But residents have responded by rallying around the family, with customers visiting the shop in large numbers to offer support, flowers and messages of goodwill after the leaflets were delivered over the weekend. Patel described the man who distributed the leaflets as "very cowardly" and said he was sure the police were doing their part to track him down.
He said: "I'm feeling pretty secure now, and I think even if this kind of thing happens in the future, I know the community stood by me and so I'm not really worried about it anymore.
"You always have some sort of fear in the back of your head thinking, hang on, what's gonna happen round the corner if someone's holding the wrong end of the stick and they come with bad intentions."So you don't know, but then you can't be living in fear and thinking about that type of thing. You just take it on the chin and carry on to be honest."
Beckenham and Penge MP Liam Conlon met with the Patels on Sunday evening to hear their concerns. He said the leaflet was a targeted racial attack, and has pushed the Met Police to investigate the incident as a hate crime.
Sharing his views, Conlon said, "They are a kind, hardworking family who have run this shop for nearly 20 years, serving the local community they are rightly proud to be part of.
That’s why it was so sad that yesterday, someone distributed hundreds of horrific, racist leaflets about them to houses in the local area. Lots of people have been in touch with me about it and I know it’s caused a lot of upset and anger on Facebook groups amongst residents who know just how fantastic this family are.
"I have reported it to the police and I’m asking them to treat it as a hate crime. Thank you to residents who captured Ring Doorbell footage of the man who delivered them, which is also now with police. I’m following up with police tomorrow and expect them to investigate this with the seriousness it deserves and to find the individual(s) behind it."