Woman who racially abused Gypsy family found guilty and fined
MIKE DOHERTY
News Reporter
MRS José Hampson, from Heath Charnock near Chorley, appeared at Preston Magistrates’ Court on Friday after pleading not guilty to a racially aggravated offence of threatening, abusive or insulting language or behavior or disorderly behavior.
The charge followed an incident on April 18 this year when Mrs Hampson was driving home from work at around 4pm. The court heard that a van was blocking her way on a narrow, single track lane, close to where the Linfoot’s, a Romany Gypsy/Traveller family, live and Mrs Hampson reversed her blue Jaguar saloon into the Linfoot’s driveway to turn around, scraping the bumper of the car in the process.
The court heard that when Mr Michael Linfoot and his father-in-law, Mr Bird, approached the car, Mrs Hampson, a neighbor of the Linfoots who opposes their four-year fight against Chorley Council to remain on their own land, launched her attack on them.
Mr Linfoot told the court that he said to Mrs Hampson that the van did not belong to them at which she started “shouting and screaming” and saying: “Look at my f****** wheel.” Mr Linfoot said he again denied responsibility and Mrs Hampson replied: “I'm f****** sick of you lot, you're illegal, you should all f*** off you dirty f****** g*pos.”
“Romany Gypsies are probably the only ethnic minorities left that still gets abused - people think its ok,” he told the court. “My mother-in-law's a similar age and if she came out with that sort of language I'd be disgusted.”
Mr Bird's wife Sylvia, who was watching the incident, told the court: “My husband was so upset I had to make him a cup of tea.” Shortly afterwards the Linfoot family called the police who took statements from both sides, and Hampson was charged with racially abusing them.
Mrs Hampson, who had earlier told reporters from the national press that she was a “devout Christian”, admitted swearing at the Linfoots but denied making the racist remarks. She told the court: “I swear by god I didn’t use those words.”
However, Deputy District Judge James Hatton said he found the evidence given by Mr Linfoot and his family “cogent and believable”.
He told Mrs Hampson that he was convinced that “in the heat of the moment you have lost your temper and used the language described in court today”.
Finding her guilty of using racially aggravated threatening words or behavior, he fined her £690 and ordered to pay her £620 prosecution costs plus a £69 victims' surcharge. Mrs Hampson is reported to be considering an appeal and has 21 days in which to do so.
Speaking after the court case, Mr Linfoot told Travellers' Times that: “I’m sorry that it came to this, all we wanted was for her to tell the truth and apologize for what she said.” Mr Linfoot also thanked the police and the Crown Prosecution Service for bringing the case to court and added: “Now if you will excuse me, for the first time in years my family has somewhere secure to live, and I have got work to be getting on with.”