Worthing plumber shouted racial abuse at neighbour from hot tub and through his front door

A Worthing plumber has been convicted of racially abusing his neighbour.
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Sean Cannon, 31, of Warren Road in Worthing, pleaded guilty to racially aggravated fear or provocation of violence at Worthing Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, March 2.

According to Sussex Police, in the early hours of September 22, 2020, Cannon was in his hot tub when he started shouting racial abuse towards his neighbour, to whom he had earlier sent threatening text messages.

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He then began banging on his neighbour's front door and continued to shout racial abuse.

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Police were called and arrested Cannon.

At court, Cannon was ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work, which was uplifted by 60 hours because of the racial element of the offence.

The court also ordered that Sean pay £100 in compensation to the victim, a victim surcharge of £95 and costs of £85.

Following sentencing, the victim said: “I want to thank the police for their prompt and professional response, which meant they were able to witness some of the racial abuse that my family and I were subjected to.

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“We have lived in our home for 18 years, and this incident made us feel unsafe. I hope this case encourages other people who have suffered hate crime to report it to the police.”

Sergeant Peter Allan, from the Adur, Worthing and Horsham Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: "I am pleased the court acted to increase the sentence, to reflect the racial nature of Sean Cannon’s behaviour.

“I hope this case sends out a clear message that we will take a robust approach to those who perpetrate behaviour that can have an impact on people, for nothing more than being who they are.

“I also hope the sentence will encourage victims of hate crime to report such behaviour to the police. We appreciate how difficult it can be for victims and witnesses to give evidence, but we will support them throughout the process.

"Hate crime can be reported to us by calling 101, or 999 in an emergency. For those who wish to report online, you can do so by completing the short form which is available on our website here.”