A YOUNG mum who was the victim of horrific hate crime has urged other sufferers not to stay silent.

Samina Ansari, who spoke out ahead of Glasgow’s hate crime awareness week, told of her terror as thugs attacked her car with her baby son in the back.

Shortly after the terror attack at Glasgow Airport, Samina was in her car at the head of a queue at traffic light in Darnley with her husband and baby.

Two men approached the vehicle and one lashed the bonnet with a metal lead, urged his dog to attack, swore and shouted racist abuse at the family.

At the same time, the other man tried to smash the rear car window with a stone.

The traumatised family managed to drive round the man standing in front of the vehicle before phoning the police.

However the attack left Samina terrified to leave the house, walk to the park with her baby or go out shopping.

The mum is chief executive of Amina, the Muslim Women’s Resource Centre in the South Side which is a reporting centre for hate crime.

She said: “It was quite horrific. I was a new mum and it was supposed to be one of the happiest times of my life but it was a horrendous time.

“I was so scared and didn’t want to leave the house and kept thinking what if those people lived around here and are going to come and find me.

“ I wondered how I explain to my wee boy that he could possibly be attacked because of the colour of his skin or his religion.

“I think I am pretty resilient but it really affected me and robbed me of my confidence.”

The culprits were prosecuted but it took Samina many months before she began to regain her confidence.

Glasgow has a network of more than 60 third person reporting centres which include housing associations, Victim Support, Glasgow Disability Alliance and Glasgow Asylum and Refugee Service.

They are safe places where staff have been trained by the police to provide help and support.

City council leader Susan Aitken said: “We all have a responsibility to stand up against hate crime.

“It is designed to intimidate victims and instil fear and it can be very difficult for people to come forward.

“That is why it is extremely important we create an atmosphere where victims feel able to report incidents.”

Meanwhile, charity Crimestoppers is today urging members of the public to report incidents of hate crime across Scotland.

If you have any information about hate crime, please contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or through the Anonymous Online Form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.