Tuesday November 8, 2022
By Osob Elmi & Dawn Limbu
Residents looking at the site where the pig's head was left
Tower block residents in Bristol have expressed safety concerns after a pig's head was left in a nearby alleyway.
It happened at Eccleston House, Barton Hill, just a few weeks after six people were hurt in a fire that broke out in the flats.
Residents said they have felt uneasy with recent incidents. A man has been questioned on suspected of arson.
"It's very scary to be there with three kids under five," said Eccleston resident Salwa.
Avon and Somerset Police is treating the incident as a hate crime.
Muna Mohamoud, 26, who lived in Eccleston House for four days before the fire happened said she believed the pig's head was deliberately placed on the flats exit towards the mosque.
"I feel like the pig's head was another sign to make us feel traumatised, to try and make us uneasy and to feel like we shouldn't be there because in Eccleston there's a lot of Muslim and Somali communities," she added.
Avon Fire and Rescue Service (AFRS) found the fire, which broke out at Eccleston House on 20 October around 06:08 BST, was started deliberately.
Salwa has been placed in emergency accommodation with her husband and three children.
She said it was been the first time she had been back to the building since the fire.
"It's very scary to be there with three kids under five. It's really scary and disturbing," she said.
Kaltun Mohammed was on the sixth floor when the fire broke out.
Since the fire she said she has been having nightmares and developed asthma from inhaling the smoke.
Muna Hussein lived on the second floor with her husband and three children.
She said Eccleston House no longer felt like home and Monday's incident only added to her unease.
Bronwen and her mother were disgusted by the discovery of the pig's head.
Ch Insp Deepak Kenth said: "Any form of hate crime targeting our communities is taken seriously.
"We'd like to reassure our communities around that the Avon and Somerset Constabulary and the police in Bristol take these incidents very seriously and we'll do everything in our power to bring the offenders to justice."