Racist graffiti was scrawled onto a footbridge over the M25 near Addlestone recently, prompting a police manhunt to catch those responsible.

An investigation into the hate crime was announced by police this morning (August 18) after they confirmed details of what they had uncovered.

The racist graffiti was found on the Liberty Lane footbridge in Addlestone, which crosses the M25 motorway.

Police said the hateful graffiti was "applied overnight between 13 August and 14 August".

Surrey County Council have since been contacted to remove it, a spokesperson added.

Hate crime incidents have been on the rise in the UK since at least 2012 according to official government data.

Home Office statistics show that incidents of hate crime have risen every year in the UK.

A Home Office report into the data described an "upward trend in recent years with the number of hate crimes recorded by the police having more than doubled since 2012/13 (from 42,255

to 103,379 offences)" in 2018/19.

Surrey Police meanwhile urged anyone with information about the racist graffiti on Liberty Lane to get in touch.

"We are now looking for anyone who might have witnessed this incident to get in touch," Surrey Police said.

"If you have any information which could help, please contact us quoting incident/crime reference number PR/45200085599..."

You can do so by calling 101, going online here https://www.surrey.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/ or calling Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

"Surrey Police takes a zero tolerance approach to hate crime which has no place in our society," the police statement on the incident read.