A national campaign to end hate crime against disabled people has been given the backing of North Yorkshire Police.

Assistant chief constable Ian Spittal said the force was wholly committed to tackling disability hate crime and working hard to establish links with disability groups in the region.

His comments come following last week’s national Mencap Stand By Me campaign.

He said: “Over the last year we have fully embraced the Mencap Stand By Me campaign and have organised various successful events working with Mencap to better understand the impact of disability hate crime.

“By working together, we can help put a stop to hate crime and encourage people to be confident in reporting disability-related hate crime to North Yorkshire Police.”