A man has been jailed for making deaths threats towards people leaving a mosque and then urinated in the doorway of the building.

Alexander Bolam was seen outside the Heaton Mosque and Islamic Centre, in Newcastle, as people were leaving the building on Rothbury Terrace, on Monday February 6.

Newcastle Crown Court was told he was heard making several threats towards those emerging from the centre, including one directed at a young child.

His racist abuse was said to be aimed at those arriving at the mosque to collect children after an event for youngsters.

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After shoving one man who had left the mosque, Bolam then urinated in the doorway of the building.

Police were called to the scene and when they arrived Bolam began to swear at the officers.

He was arrested on nearby Shields Road shortly after the incident and an investigation was initiated, including the gathering of CCTV footage taken from the scene, capturing the 33-year-old defendant’s behaviour.

When he was interviewed, he said he was drunk on the day of the incident and had no recollection of what took place. 

Bolam, of Holystone Crescent, in Newcastle, was subsequently charged with racially aggravated assault, racially aggravated damage and making threats to kill, all of which he admitted.

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Appearing at Newcastle Crown Court last Friday (August 11), he received a four-year prison sentence, with an extended licence period of a further three years.

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Following his sentencing, Inspector Anita Morgan, of Northumbria Police, said: “Bolam’s actions were utterly shameful and he has now rightly been jailed.

“People, including young children, were threatened by him as they left a place of worship and that is simply not acceptable anytime, anywhere.

“Hate crime of any kind within our communities will not be tolerated under any circumstances and we welcome the sentence handed down to the offender by the courts.”

Insp Morgan added: “Members of the public should be aware that we take every report of racially aggravated crime extremely seriously and always do our utmost to bring those responsible for these appalling offences to justice.”

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She said if anyone has been the victim of such an offence, they should inform police immediately in the hope similar swift action can be taken.

Anyone who believes they have been the victim of hate crime should call police on 101 or use the ‘Tell Us Something’ page on the Northumbria force website.

In an emergency situation, the advice is always to call 999.