Doorman who witnessed racist outburst says abuse 'becoming normal'

A doorman who shared a video of a racist outburst he witnessed while at work has said such abuse towards staff is becoming "normalised".

The footage, taken outside Ko-Ko Lounge in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, showed a woman shouting abuse and making gestures at a black security guard.

Jawad Ali said the club-goer became abusive after being asked to move away from an exit while he was working at the venue on Saturday night.

Greater Manchester Police said it had received a report about the incident and inquiries were ongoing.

"It's disgusting," said Jawad, 20, who was working for Protective One Security at the time.

He alleged the woman had also directed racial abuse towards him before the filming.

Jawad said he decided to post the video on social media because "you can't do that and get away with it".

"This isn't the first time, and it won't be the last," he added.

Jawad said during the past two years working on the doors he has been called every racial slur and even threatened with death.

"I expect now when I come to work to be racially abused one night out of the four that I work," he continued.

"Its a normal thing now. It should be a big thing that gets prosecuted heavily."

Fellow security worker Liz Turley, who works for Radius Security, said: "There hasn't been a night where I haven't experienced some instance of somebody standing there for a prolonged period of time giving me abuse."

She said staff were often subjected to racist, homophobic or sexist abuse on shift.

"They will pick up on characteristics that we're likely to find offensive," she added.

Jawad told the BBC he believed that online discourse about immigration issues had emboldened racist attitudes, particularly with narratives around "stopping the boats".

"We haven't come off any boats. I was born here, my dad was born here, my granddad was born here," he said.

"I've got just as much right to be here and work as anyone else does."

Liz said she would like to see members of the public to stand up for others when they see these instances taking place.

"Very often these individuals are left unchallenged in committing this sort of abuse," she said.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.