A FORMER police constable from Blackburn has taken the force to an industrial tribunal claiming he was the victim of racial discrimination.

Tabs Zabier claims he was shunned by colleagues and ridiculed.

And the father of three alleges that when he complained to either senior officers or officials from the Lancashire Black Police Association (LBPA), his allegations were ignored.

Mr Zabier’s case got underway yesterday at a tribunal in Manchester.

The hearing was told that Mr Zabier was shocked to discover his police radio name contained an offensive word.

Mr Zabier had also complained that he was dubbed ‘PC Sicko’ by police civilian support staff.

The former constable claims that one colleague told him, in terms that used an offensive word, that the Muslim belief in Allah and marriage was rubbish.

Mr Zabier, who joined the force in 2000 as a rookie and served mainly at Preston and Fulwood police stations.

The tribunal heard that Mr Zabier was on parade at Preston police station, in 2002, when he was struck on the back of the head with a newspaper by an inspector.

Giving evidence, Mr Zabier claimed that the blow came as a complete surprise and caused him to stagger forward by at least two paces.

However an eyewitness, Sgt Ilyas Mohmed, described the blow as a "light tap", though he did have words with the inspector later about how the incident might be perceived by third parties.

Martyn Barklem, representing Lancashire Police, said Insp Whitehead had only been trying to attract the constable's attention and denied the incident constituted an assault.

The tribunal heard that Mr Zabier had complained to another inspector at Preston about his treatment and also raised his concerns with Police Constable Mebs Ahmed and Sergeant Jameel Murtza.

After he was transferred to work in the minorities unit within the police's central division, where he says he also tried to raise similar worries with a detective sergeant.

Following the incident with the newspaper and Insp Whitehead, Mr Zabier claims that Sgt Mohmed advised him to make notes if anything similar occurred.

But Mr Zabier said: "Lancashire police is a close-knit community and no-one wanted to take that step and investigate these matters further.

"I was young, I was naive and I wanted to build bridges between myself and other team members. I wanted to make progress in my chosen career."

The tribunal heard that in 2005 Mr Zabier was given a superintendent's written warning after missing paperwork forced the Crown Prosecution Service to abandon two cases of racially-motivated behaviour.

The paperwork, some of it dating back four years, was later found in the then-constable's paper tray and following a search of his locker.

The ex-constable said his workload was "considerably higher" than his colleagues as he regularly became involved in a number of incidents involving members of the Asian community.

Mr Zabier added: "I approached my supervisors numerous times and said 'let me take time out to deal my paperwork'.Through operational commitments I was not given that time."

Mr Barklem said other officers had been given nicknames on the police radios and when this was discovered, officers were told the conduct was unacceptable. None of the nicknames were racially motivated, he said.

And while Mr Zabier complained about being sent out on patrol alone, Mr Barklem claimed this was divisional policy at the time.

The tribunal, which has been listed for 20 days, continues.