Ishfaq Hussain featured in West Midlands police publicity pictures

Ishfaq Hussain, a law graduate who joined the police 1995, described how his life as a constable was made unbearable after he complained about his colleagues' alleged racist comments.

He told a national newspaper that curry was smeared on the handle of his door and that, on another occasion, a Nazi swastika was scrawled on his paperwork.

West Midlands Police said on Wednesday that Mr Hussain resigned before he was due to face charges of misconduct.

Ku Klux Klan

He is taking the force to an employment tribunal, although the hearing has been postponed three times since April 2002 when the officer handed in his notice.

Before his resignation, the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) had recommended Mr Hussain face a disciplinary panel over misconduct charges relating to an off-duty altercation with a van driver.

Mr Hussein told BBC Midlands Today that his colleagues subjected him to frequent abuse.

I just wish that something can be done to prevent this from happening to other people Ishfaq Hussain

"People would say: 'Why are you Pakis all effing liars. Is it in your religion to lie?'

"I would hear people calling Indian people 'raghead'. I would hear people referring to black people with the n-word."

He added: "It certainly has caused a lot of hurt and more than anything I'm disappointed at the way I've been treated.

"I just wish that something can be done to prevent this from happening to other people."

Mr Hussain told the Guardian newspaper how curry was smeared on the handle of his bedroom door while he was on a training course at Ryton, Warwickshire.

He said that, on another occasion, a Nazi swastika and the Ku Klux Clan initials were scrawled on his paperwork.

In a statement, West Midlands Police's director of personnel, David Williams, said the force was waiting for a new date for the employment tribunal to hear Mr Hussain's allegations of racial harassment.

Mr Williams said: "Clearly, to date, we have been unable to contest these claims through the various legal and statutory processes."

He added: "West Midlands Police is totally united to stamp out any prejudice, including racism, within this force."