Police have arrested a man after a Muslim woman and her child were allegedly racially abused by people painting St George's crosses on buildings.
Footage widely circulated on social media shows two topless men painting red crosses on the white walls of flats above a row of shops and restaurants on a high street in Basildon, Essex.
As a third person filmed them and a young girl watches on, racial slurs are claimed to have been hurled as a Muslim woman wearing a headscarf gets out of her car and walks past with a child.
The row of shops, off Whitmore Way, features venues such as an Indian restaurant, a Chinese takeaway and a burger bar.
Essex Police has confirmed that a 33-year-old man, from Basildon, has been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence and conspiracy to commit criminal damage.
