Officers from the North West Counter Terrorism Unit and Lancashire Constabulary have today, Wednesday 11 January 2017, arrested a 21 year old man from Blackpool on suspicion of public order offences.

The man was arrested on suspicion of two offences contrary to Section 18 of the Public Order Act 1986 - using threatening/abusive/insulting words or behaviour or displaying written material with intent/likely to stir up racial hatred.

The alleged offences relate to comments made at an event in Blackpool in March 2016 and to comments made on social media.

The man will be interviewed at a police station in Lancashire during the course of the day.

All reports of hate crime are taken extremely seriously and anyone who feels they have been a victim or who has concerns should contact police. For more information visit /help-advice/personal-safety/hate-crime.aspx