Derby man who used racist language found not guilty of causing gross offence

A DISABLED man who used racially derogatory words while speaking to police has been found not guilty of making offensive phone calls.

John Spare, 59, who is profoundly deaf, used derogatory terms to describe two black men he alleged assaulted him, in two calls to Derbyshire police, on February 5 and 6.

He pleaded not guilty to both charges and told magistrates he believed his language was not offensive because he had "been brought up with it".

In September 2007, the Evening Telegraph reported how the city's police and council had received hundreds of complaints from Mr Spare.

Last week, a court heard that Mr Spare's words used to describe his alleged attackers – including the term "golliwog" – had led two civilian call-handlers to hang up.

One, Sarah Tippett, told Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court that she associated his words with "the olden days, referring to the times of slavery". The other, Karen Rockley, said she had told Mr Spare that what he was saying was "very offensive".

She said: "I was shocked that someone would say the kind of things he was saying."

Prosecuting, Liam Powell said the calls had come at a time when Mr Spare believed youths near his former home, in Shelmory Close, Allenton, were making his life intolerable. He said: "The two charges relate to a tiny part of the calls he made.

"The law says that his words had to be grossly offensive for him to be found guilty."

Mr Spare told the court that he was not a racist. Replying to questions from his solicitor, Pardeep Kalyan, he said he did not intend his words to be offensive.

He said: "I referred to the youths the way I did because I wanted to say what they actually looked like.

"I was born in 1949. These are words I was brought up with and I hear them today. If I thought it was offensive, I wouldn't have said it."

Mr Spare, now of Willington, claimed he was threatened by a youth on February 5 and then had a beer can thrown at him by the same person the next day.

Presiding magistrate Jill Albiston said she was satisfied that Mr Spare's words were not grossly offensive.

She said: "The witnesses stated they were very offended by the terms. However, we found them to be offensive but not grossly so."