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Self-styled ‘patriots’ have filmed themselves banning students from parks and giving them a ‘final warning’.
A group calling themselves the Chelmsley Wood Patriots, dressed all in black, walked laps of their local park under the guise of protecting women and children.
But locals and anti-racism activists accused the group, swelling in numbers, of approaching people ‘based on their ethnicity’
The group filmed themselves interrogating the young men, who said they were from India, about what they were doing.
In a now deleted video, one of the men was heard asking: ‘What made you come to England?’, to which one student replied: ‘No, we are usually in Birmingham, we just moved here today.’
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The man then said: ‘England, I came to do my Masters, I’ve been here for two years now.’
One of the group then gave them ‘a final warning’ to stay away from the public space.
He said: ‘What you need to do is stay away from a children’s park.
‘Do not come round here again. Do not be seen here again. This is your final warning.
‘You will not get a warning again, stay away, stay away!
‘Go back to your house yeah and stay away. Take yourself back to where you f****g live then yeah.
‘Back to the HMO, go home, go home.’
The group posted on Facebook that they were patrolling because of missing children and reported rapes in the area.
They said: ‘Our patriots walked around in silence up behind the man, tapped his shoulder & asked what he was doing in the park.
Only then to discover two more males hiding in darkness of the trees near the toilets.
‘They asked why are they in a park in the dark only to be told they were exploring.
‘This is why we then decided to film these men show you their responses because they all fumbled with very different stories.’
They claimed they ‘politely’ asked them to leave the park, before adding: ‘Parks are for children, family units, not three grown men sitting in the dark filming when we have so many uncertainties at present.’
Solihull Green Party issued a statement condemning the harassment and ‘there was no reason for the approach other than the students’ ethnicity’.
It said it was trying to track down the victims to check on their welfare.
Green council candidate, Shesh Sheshabhatter told BirminghamLive: ‘These young men were doing nothing wrong.
‘Students are allowed to meet and walk outside, and they have every right to do so. We can see no reason they were targeted other than the colour of their skin.
‘Nobody should be treated differently because of their skin or their accent.’
He added: ‘The actions of people calling themselves ‘patriots’ are tarnishing the reputation of Chelmsley Wood, the community we live in and love.
‘Real patriotism means standing up for your neighbours, not intimidating them.’
West Midlands Police said they were ‘aware of reports from last night, and there is a measured and appropriate policing response taking place’.
It came after a coach company claimed they would not take on Home Office jobs to transport migrants after their drivers suffered ‘abuse’ and protests which saw a window be smashed.
In a statement on their site, BM Coaches said that two vehicles were called up by the Home Office on October 3.
‘Following careful consideration of recent incidents and the increased sensitivity surrounding the provision of transport services connected to the Home Office, we can confirm that the provision of vehicles provided by BM Coaches was ceased on Wednesday October 7.’
They added: ‘We would like to thank our staff, some of whom, through absolutely no fault of their own, have suffered significant abuse from members of the general public, for their continued support and dedication to serving our many and much valued clients.’