Nottingham Crown Court heard shocking evidence on the opening day of the trial against Paul Moore, 21, who is accused of attacking a Muslim woman and a young Muslim 12-year old girl.

In his evidence, Mr. Lewis Welsh – the half-brother of Mr. Moore – stated that the defendant, who had come to his house immediately after the alleged incidences, had said that he ran “a P*** woman over” and that it was in response to the “7/7 bombing”.

Mr. Welsh said that Mr. Moore was “proud” of himself.

The defendant faces three charges: the attempted murder of Zaynab Hussein; the attempt to cause grievous bodily harm to a young Muslim girl; and dangerous driving.

Mr. Moore has pleaded not guilty to all of the three charges; however, he has opted to not offer a defence.

Ms. Hussein was walking towards her house on the 20^th of September 2017, having dropped her children to school, when she was struck by Mr. Moore from behind at around 8am.

Mr. Moore then made a U-turn manoeuvre and proceeded to run over Ms. Hussein again, whilst she lay “helpless” on the floor.

The prosecutor, Jonathan Straw, said: “carefully and deliberately in an act of cold and calculated evil, he aligned himself so the front and back wheels went over her”.

Mr. Straw further stated to the court that “there was no pre-existing grudge” and that Mr. Moore had instigated the attack simply because “of the colour of her skin…and her presumed Islamic faith”.

The court heard that Ms. Hussein was ‘visibly Muslim’ as “she was wearing a hijab”.

Ms. Hussein suffered horrific injuries which included fractures of the pelvis, spine, legs and arm.

Mr. Moore, subsequent to his attack on Ms. Hussein, then attempted to run over a 12-year old Muslim girl, who was making her way to school with her cousin.

The court heard a statement from the young Muslim girl’s cousin, in which the cousin said: “We could hear a car…it was loud and screeching…the next thing I noticed was my friend’s school bag flying in the air”.

She added in her statement: “Thankfully he did not hit my friend. He brushed the side of her and instead sent her bag flying in the air”.

The court also heard a recorded video of Mr. Kevin Bishop – who was present in the car for the first collision but not the collision after the U-turn nor the collision against the young Muslim girl.

In the video, Mr. Bishop gave witness to how Mr. Moore had laughed whilst he was mounting the pavement and as Ms. Hussein hit the bonnet of the car.

The trial began today and is expected to last three days.

MEND will continue to report on the progress of the trial over the course of the next few days.

It is important that anyone who believes they are in immediate danger from a prejudice-based hate crime should contact the police as soon as possible on 999. If not in immediate danger, or if you have suffered a prejudice-based hate crime in the past, then you can report it using the non-emergency number 101.

You can also – in addition to the police – report any Islamophobic hate crime to MEND’s Islamophobia Response Unit (IRU) here. This allows us to monitor levels of abuse and compile accurate data on the levels of Islamophobia.

The IRU can also help you contact and deal with the police (if you choose to do so), and signpost you towards free legal advice and emotional support that may be available.