AROUND 60 friends and family have spent a wonderful weekend in Pembrokeshire for a truly fabulous wedding from July 21-24.

In the magical setting of Slebech Park estate near Haverfordwest we all enjoyed everything brilliant about Wales and then around 30 of us finished off the celebrations in St David’s, a beautiful small city we have visited before.

Sadly it was in this atmospheric cathedral city that we experienced a very distressing and disappointing incident which could have marred an evening except that we wouldn’t allow that.

I am writing to you to raise awareness of how upsetting and unacceptable overt racism is.

There were people in our group from all countries and of all colours because the majority of the party were young 30 something professionals from London, a truly multicultural, thriving capital city.

A much loved member of our party who happens to have black skin went to park his car nearby to a pub and this triggered a barrage of racist abuse out of nowhere from a resident who appeared to think that black people could not park outside his house even though white people were also parking there.

The abuse was awful and was actually witnessed by myself and my husband, parents of the groom who is a solicitor.

The young man was very distressed and did in fact move his car elsewhere for fear it might be damaged.

The male abuser claimed to ‘know what black people are like’ and much more besides which I am sure you wouldn’t print.

I’m very sorry for all the decent residents of St Davids – we all met some wonderful people and I cannot speak highly enough of the hotel staff.

You need to know you have someone living amongst you who is letting your little city down extremely badly by committing what is actually now a ‘hate crime’.

The young man who was abused is a professional person and was smartly dressed and accompanied by his female partner and they were going for a meal out.

They did nothing to warrant this abuse and in fact when I went to speak to him he said he had never, ever come across this sort of behaviour before.

I hope the person who did this reads my letter and feels shame and I hope that if any other residents witness anything like this again that they challenge it.

Yours in regret,

ELAINE DEAN JP (Mrs)

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