A BARNSTAPLE man has been convicted of making a racist remark to an Egyptian hotel worker.

Richard Loder, 37, denied racially aggravated harassment of Ramadan Hassan in a Barnstaple hotel car park.

But he was found guilty after a trial at North Devon Magistrates' Court.

Magistrates heard the incident happened after Loder was seen in the car park of the Imperial Hotel with his hand on a Rolls-Royce.

James Ley, a porter and barman at the hotel, said the hotel was hosting a Rolls-Royce convention.

Staff were on high alert following the theft of a Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament from one of the cars.

For the prosecution, Mark Haddow told magistrates that hotel worker Ramadan Hassan and general manager Martin Felgate came out of the hotel.

Loder was heard to say to Mr Hassan: "What are you talking about?"

He then swore at him and said he should go "back to your own country".

Mr Hassan told the court: "No one has spoken to me like this before. I just choked.

"I have had six years in this country and everyone treats me nicely. I just thought 'Why?' I was confused."

In evidence Loder claimed he told Mr Hassan to stop laughing at him because he was "not even from this country". He said this was not racist, but just a fact.

Mr Haddow said the trial revolved around this one sentence — and both accounts of what was said were equally offensive.

In a police interview, which was read to the court by Mr Haddow, Loder said he did not mean to cause offence.

He said: "I could have called him much worse.

"I know he is Egyptian, but I didn't know that at the time. I thought he was Muslim or something."

Magistrates ruled that Loder's remarks were racist.

Loder, who gave an address in Mulberry Way, Barnstaple, was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £100 compensation to Mr Hassan.