Bristol, Bath and the West

First helps promote anti-hate campaign on the buses and reminds passengers that its a crime.

Passengers on First buses are being encouraged sit up and take notice of adverts that will appearing on buses from today to raise awareness of hate crime against people with learning disabilities.

The adverts will appear on more than eighty buses across North Somerset and Bristol including Bridgwater, Bristol Airport, Cribbs Causeway, Wells, Westbury, Weston super Mare, and Yatton.

First spokeswoman Rachael Hicks says ‘ The bus really comes into its own with a campaign like this, what better way to attract peoples attention than when they are sat on the bus. They have plenty of time to read the message and hopefully they will act on it and remember that judging people who seem different in some way, is just not nice.

North Somerset People First, a voluntary organisation that is run by people with learning disabilities, has put the campaign together. It recognised that the issue was a growing problem in the area and decided that adverts on buses would be a great way to get the message across.

"People with Learning Disabilities are equal citizens and as such should not be treated differently. Research has shown public transport to be a place where hate crimes take place; as a result they use specialist transport for fear of this happening leaving them isolated from the community, which is unnecessary. Hate Crime is just that: A crime. It is everyones responsibility to report it if they see it happening.'