Men charged with hate crime after disabled 10-year-old girl abused and mother punched in Manchester

Pair to appear in court accused of assault and intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress

A 10-year-old disabled girl and her mother were attacked in a McDonalds in Manchester city centre by two men, police said.

The girl who uses a wheelchair was allegedly verbally abused and threatened, before a drink was thrown over her.

A three-year-old girl and a baby in a pram were also hit with liquid during the 20 August attack at St Ann's Square, Greater Manchester Police said as they charged charged Luke Jones, 27, and Ryan Gould, 28, with intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress, and two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm.

The force added that two men shouted “derogatory comments” at the group and threatened them with violence.

They have been remanded in custody and were due to appear at Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court next week.

Some 5,558 disability hate crimes were recorded by police in the UK in 2016/17, up 53 per cent on the previous year, according to a report published this week by HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate.

The true number of offences is thought to be higher because many cases were not accurately recorded.

Only 1,009 of recorded incidents led to completed prosecutions, a lower rate than other hate crimes.