A specialist police officer has been appointed in Hounslow, west London, as part of a pioneering bid to crack down on race crime.

The race crime outreach worker will act independently of the police to provide advice and emotional support to victims.

It is the first such post created in London.

A national survey recently found that four out of five victims of racist or homophobic attacks do not feel well supported by ordinary police officers.

These disturbing findings, outlined in the Crime and Prejudice report by Victim Support and Co-operative Insurance, noted that victims of hate crime often do not report incidents to cops because they live in fear of repercussions or repeat attacks.

But those who have dealt with new specially trained officers found them much more helpful, the report found.

Recent research conducted by the Hounslow Race Equality Council backed up the national findings.

Councillor Phil Andrews, Hounslow Council's lead member for community safety and housing, said: "We find it disturbing that people do not feel they can report hate crimes to the police as suggested in this research, but in Hounslow, we are making huge strides forward to raise awareness of the problem, and the many ways it can be reported to police and other agencies.

"We welcome the appointment of a specialist race crime officer, who will work independently of police, but will take case referrals from them."

An innovative i-kiosk scheme set up in Chiswick three months ago to reveal true levels of homophobic crime in west London was also praised by Cllr Andrews.

The i-kiosk information booth is now set to be moved to the Windsor Castle pub on Bath Road in Hounslow.

The new worker is due to start in September and will be based in Hounslow Police's community safety unit.

Funding for the post will come from the City Parochial Foundation, an external charity.

Anyone who has been a victim of race crime in Hounslow can report incidents to the police on 020 8721 9104, the Hounslow Racial Equality Council on 020 8583 2525 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.