HUNDREDS of people rallied in Bournemouth Square as part of a peaceful protest against racism and to show solidarity with migrants.

Organised by the Dorset Race Equality Council in response to the numerous reports of racial abuse since the Brexit vote, protesters held signs condemning racism, as well as messages of support for migrants.

Members of the group also gave out yellow roses to passers-by as a gesture of friendship.

Magazine journalist Poppy-Jay Palmer came up with the idea for the rally and was approached by a member of the Dorset Race Equality Council who helped her to organise the event.

Poppy said: “I’m mixed race but my dad’s half Thai and he does sometimes get people telling him to ‘go home’.

“Why would you want to make someone feel bad for being themselves? I’m shocked about the increasing racism happening at the moment, but, saying that, it was probably to be expected.

“The most vocal people are those that are xenophobic, racist, sexist, or homophobic. And they think others are more behind them now.

“However, I’m so pleased with the turn-out at the protest. The response from passers-by has been really good – from what I’ve heard, everyone’s been completely behind it.

“I did have one woman tell me though that she did this kind of thing in the 80s, and she couldn’t believe she was doing this again now.”

As reported in the Daily Echo last week, people have been reporting to the county’s Race Equality Council they have been experiencing increasing hostility from certain members of the community.

Chief officer Adnan Chaudry said the council urged people to report any incidents of racial abuse to them and to the police.

Speaking at the protest, he said: “We’re trying to show Bournemouth is a welcoming town to everybody, including migrants who’ve made it their home.

“We want to send out a really, really positive message that they are welcome here, and I think having this peaceful rally and handing out roses is a wonderful gesture of friendship.

“We’re asking people to join us in opposing hatred as, sadly, we’ve seen a rise in racist incidents in Bournemouth since the Brexit vote.

“Thankfully, the majority of people in Bournemouth reject that racism and verbal abuse.

“What the Brexit has done,” he continued, “is it has emboldened many people who were racist, and they feel they’ve got the green light now to verbally abuse people and tell them to go back to where they came from. Those are the kinds of incidents that have been reported to us.

“Getting a few hundred people here in the square sends out a positive message. And to those people who promote hate, this shows we are Bournemouth, not them.”