"I was scared that I would be racially abused again."
A man who filmed an incident in which he confronted a lorry driver who subjected him to racist abuse revealed that he was left “traumatised” by the ordeal.
Adnan Hussain made the revelation after lorry driver Nicholas Clayton was found guilty of causing alarm or distress by using threatening or insulting words that were racially motivated.
Mr Hussain had been racially abused by Clayton in a fit of road rage in Grimesthorpe, Sheffield, in February 2021.
Clayton had exited his lorry and told Mr Hussain to “get back to your own country” and made racial slurs.
Later, Mr Hussain, who worked for the NHS at the time, drove to Clayton’s workplace, Brocklebank & Co Demolition Ltd, to tell his employers.
Clayton was also there. Mr Hussain then filmed the interaction.
In the video, Mr Hussain alleged that Clayton “swore at me and told me to get to my own country” before saying that the lorry driver a “smelly b*****d” and a “P***”.
Clayton shrugs off the allegations. In response, he asks Mr Hussain why “did he drive like a f*****g idiot?”
The TikTok video received over a million views.
Watch the Video – Warning: Explicit Language
https://www.tiktok.com/@adnanhussainmodel/video/6935860138108603654?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id7021111379667715590
After the hearing, Mr Hussain said: “When it happened I was scared that I would be racially abused again. I was scared to go out.
“It had happened before but not to the point that someone comes out of their car and up to my window.”
The 25-year-old was “really upset” after Clayton pleaded not guilty despite the evidence against him.
He continued: “That made me even more shocked and traumatised. It was really disappointing to be honest.
“I have never been to court and the fact that he didn’t accept what he’d done made me really upset.
“The video had gone viral. The world had seen what he did and for him to still think that he hadn’t done anything wrong. It’s upsetting.”
During the trial, Clayton’s solicitor argued that he did not use a racial slur but had called Mr Hussain a “dirty b****d”.
Mr Hussain said: “The judge was really good because his solicitor was hell-bent on saying I drove like this and I drove like that and the judge was consistently saying that the focus was on the racist remarks.
“That was a relief and showed that there are good people that do believe in justice.
“Police said that he got really angry and agitated in the interview and he was getting really angry in the trial as well. The judge told him ‘Your rage is aggravating this situation’.”
Clayton was convicted but Mr Hussain felt he would not quickly get over the incident.
He said: “It crushed my character.
“I thought ‘do I even belong in this society?’ even though I was born in Rotherham. Do I not have the same rights as him?
“I was working for the NHS at the time and giving my all back to the community and didn’t deserve that.”
Clayton was fined £250 at Sheffield Magistrates Court by District Judge Naomi Redhouse. He was also ordered to pay a £34 victim surcharge and £250 costs to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Mr Hussain believed Clayton should have been told to do community work but is happy “justice was served”.
He added: “I’m happy justice was served and there was a good outcome. I didn’t believe that there would be.
“This has impacted me a lot mentally – especially over the last year – but it shows that there are good people out there that recognise it for what it is.
“Going through this takes guts and my message to people would be that if you do have a similar issue then speak out against the evil and make sure you get justice.
“There’s support there when you need it.”
Loading ...