A York takeaway owner has spoken of her heartbreak after her business was covered in racist graffiti.
Red paint was scrawled all over the Dragon House Chinese takeaway at about 1am this morning (Friday).
The word ‘Chinese’ was painted over, and ‘Go Home’ daubed on one wall.
Crude England flags were also painted on the takeaway front.
The owner, who did not want to be named, said she was contacted by police to say she’d been targeted in the early hours.
She told YorkMix: “This is heartbreaking for me. Very sad.”
The perpetrators are “definitely racist,” she said. “There are so many shops on Foxwood Lane, but only the Chinese takeaway was targeted.”
The owner, who’s British Chinese, has lived in York for more than ten years, and in the UK for more than 20 years.
“I have three children. They are growing up here, and going to secondary school.
“England is my home. I don’t know why people treat us like this.”
Three teenage boys on bikes were caught on the Dragon House CCTV at about the time it happened. Police are investigating.
Many locals have rallied round on Facebook, condemning the racism and offering their love and support.
The owner said something like this happens “almost every year”.
When asked whether the many recent posts and headlines about England flags going up in York may have influenced the perpetrators to draw three St George’s flags and write ‘England’ on the shop, she said: “Probably”.
When contacted by YorkMix about what had happened Joseph Moulton, who launched the York Flaggers and Litter Pickers campaign, said he condemned the racism.
Then he went straight down and helped to clean off the graffiti on the brickwork.
Joseph posted on the Facebook page: “When we arrived, we were glad to see another local tradesman, Isaac from Crystal Clean Windows, already tackling the front windows.
“We’d brought along graffiti remover and equipment to deal with the brickwork on the side of the shop, so we got straight to work alongside him. We tried to remove it as best we could!
“Sadly, this isn’t the first time this has happened – it seems to crop up every year.
“Moments like this show why communities need to come together, look out for one another, and make sure we all do our part to keep our area safe and respected.”
The Dragon House owner told YorkMix: “Two young people kindly helped us clean off the ‘Go Home’ graffiti. I was really touched by their support.”
