A Muslim family in Stockport has been left feeling “degraded” and “unwelcome” after two masked individuals placed a pig’s head on the gates of their home.
The incident, which Greater Manchester Police is investigating as a hate crime, occurred in the early hours of the morning at the family’s property on Bruntwood Lane in Cheadle.
Security camera footage captured two hooded figures with covered faces and gloves approaching the residence, unwrapping the animal carcass from a bag, and mounting it on a spike atop the gates before fleeing the scene.
The entire act took roughly 20 seconds, with the perpetrators appearing to move in what the family described as a calculated and professional manner.
Camran Butt, 41, made the grim discovery that morning whilst taking his nine-year-old son and four-year-old daughter to school.
Initially mistaking the object on the ground for storm debris or a dead animal, he quickly realised the true nature of what lay before him.
“I didn’t want the kids to look at it, so we tried to get them off to school. I told them it was a dead pigeon,” Mr Butt said, adding: “But I knew what it was straight away.”
Upon returning home, he found his wife in a state of shock, speaking with a neighbour outside.
A Muslim family from Stockport, Manchester, were left feeling ‘degraded’ after pig’s head mounted on their home’s gate
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“She was shaking, like visibly shaking, you know her face was all snow white,” he recalled.
“My wife was distraught. She took it really badly, to be honest. She was shaking and crying. I think she had a bit of a panic attack when she saw what was on the cameras.”
The father-of-two, who runs a health and social care company, said the attack appeared deliberately targeted rather than random vandalism.
“It wasn’t like it was just kids messing around with graffiti – this was targeted and professional,” he explained.
Greater Manchester Police have said they are invetsigating the incident as a hate crime
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“You just think to yourself, what sort of fight have I had that could lead someone to do something like this; so targeted, so professional. It’s not eggs on your car, or someone breaking into your car, someone’s really gone to extreme lengths.”
In Islam, the consumption and handling of pork is strictly forbidden, making the act particularly offensive to the family.
Such was his concern for the safety of his family that Mr Butt hired a private security guard to patrol outside the property overnight for a week following the incident.
However, the response from neighbours has provided some comfort to the family.
Mr Butt said locals had reached out, knocked on doors, and offered support, with many telling him “this is not what Cheadle’s about” and reassuring the family they were welcome in the area.
Chief Inspector Lisa Devitt from Greater Manchester Police’s Stockport district condemned the incident in strong terms.
“This was an appalling and deliberate act against a family home – no one should be subjected to incidents of this manner,” she said, adding that: “We are treating this incident as a hate crime and are doing everything we can to find those responsible.”
The force confirmed that multiple lines of enquiry have been pursued, though no arrests have yet been made.