Lewisham parents joined forces to tackle bigotry with bunting on Saturday with a Picnic for Peace in Brockley as hate crime reports soared after the EU referendum.

More than 200 people made their way to the Stone Circle at Hilly Fields to roll out a rug, share some food and take a stand to promote peace, harmony and multiculturalism.

Organisers Hana Sutch and Fanzi Down told News Shopper they felt they had to do something after being confronted with xenophobic comments - particularly in the week following Britain’s decision to leave the EU.

Ms Sutch said: "Last week's EU Referendum seems to have torn the country apart - politically and socially.

"Overnight, the climate has changed, friends have suffered racist commentary and abuse.

"I was even told I 'don't look British'.

"Diversity and multiculturalism shouldn’t be something that divides us, we should be celebrating it.

The event was aimed at parents with young children who feel they can't safely protest in Trafalgar Square or outside Parliament but still want to make a stand.

Ms Sutch added: "We want our children to be able to grow up without being judged by their skin colour, their accent or their or their parents’ race."

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Lewisham Deptford MP Vicky Foxcroft showed her support by speaking at the event and councillors Carl Handley, Bill Brown, Liz Johnston Franklin and Brenda Dacres also came along.

Ms Vicky Foxcroft addressed the crowd, saying the event was “exactly what we need right now”.

Ms Foxcroft said Britain and London were experiencing turbulence following the EU referendum and the murder of MP Jo Cox, who was stabbed and shot on the street after a meeting in her constituency of Batley and Spen.

Ms Foxcroft addressed the picnic, saying: “It feels like a fairly turbulent time.

“I lost one of my friends who was a colleague in parliament only a few weeks ago.

“There was a lot of negative language used leading up to the referendum.

“We need to show that we do not think any negative, derisory or racist language is acceptable.”

Jo Cox’s alleged attacker reportedly shouted “Britain first” at the scene and when asked to state his name in court earlier this month, said “Death to traitors, freedom for Britain”.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has called on Londoners to "pull together and rally behind this great city".

He also spoke about his own experiences with racism at his first State of London debate as mayor last week after figures revealed reported hate crime incidents were five times the typical weekly level following the referendum.

From Thursday, June 23 to Wednesday, June 29 this week, 331 incidents were reported to the True Vision online site - equivalent to 47 every day.

The tally compared with a weekly average of 63 reports.

Sara Thornton, chairwoman of the National Police Chiefs' Council, said: "It is important to remember that this is only one reporting mechanism and extensive focus on this issue in the last few days will have influenced these numbers by making hate crime and the site more visible and encouraging people to report.

"We also cannot determine how many of the reports are linked to the referendum."

Scotland Yard is investigating a hate crime incident after offensive graffiti was found on the front of a Polish Social and Cultural Association in west London.