A KEY member of the Redditch Polish community has said he is sickened by race-related attacks on Poles in Redditch.

George Zdanko feels the attacks are a backwards step for a town with a good racial equality record.

"It's quite sickening to see this amount of violence against innocent members of the community.

"It's tantamount to thuggery and hooliganism, with a particularly violent streak. If the motive is race hatred, then we have gone so much backwards in this town of ours," he said.

Mr Zdanko, a businessman and former chairman of the Redditch Polish Roman Catholic Community for 15 years, was born in the UK but has a Polish heritage.

His comments came after two Polish men suffered racist attacks in Redditch - a 25 year old was severely beaten during a gang attack on Bates Hill and a 49 year old was repeatedly hit with a baseball bat.

Polish people have also told the Advertiser about several other more minor racist incidents, such as having their windows smashed and abuse shouted at them.

Mr Zdanko believes the attacks undermine the good racial equality record achieved by the efforts of Redditch Community Relations Council, run by Madge Tillesley and Betty Passingham.

"It's a retrograde step for these mindless thugs to commit such violent and abusive acts," he said.

Established in the late 1940s, the Redditch Polish community has developed through nurturing by its members and now has a parish centre and club in Oakly Road.

"We have always been proud people, extremely hardworking, and we have achieved community respect and integration through our commitment to these values," said Mr Zdanko.

"We find the Polish immigrants to be extremely intelligent, hard working and competent, mastering many job skills. Their work ethic and commitment to their jobs is first class, with great reliability.

"There is hardly a business that is not considering employing people from Poland and I am personally aware of many of Redditch's medium to large companies which are employing more than 10 Poles."

Mr Zdanko sounded a warning about unscrupulous employers and landlords taking advantage of Polish immigrants by exploiting employment laws and offering sub-standard accommodation.

He advised these cases should be reported to the relevant authorities and said the Polish community would help individuals by further reporting the matter when necessary.

Group offers help to victims

THE Redditch Community Relations Council, which supports ethnic minorities, is ready to help people who are victims of racism.

Following the attacks, secretary Betty Passingham has written to Mr Zdanko to ask if there is anything the council can do to help.

She said reports of racist attacks were rare until the recent incidents, although some people had reported feeling discriminated against where they live.

Ways the council helps ethnic communities include organising lunches for elderly and disabled people from Polish, Muslim, Indian and West Indian communities with appropriate food.

The council can also arrange home visits for people needing help and arrange for them to be taken to hospital or shopping.

For more details, call Mrs Passingham on 545881.