A mother has been left too scared to go shopping after she was racially abused in a Brighton supermarket.

Kaltum Rivers, 28, was at the checkout when a man tried to jump the queue and push in front of her.

When she confronted him she said he started hurling racial insults at her.

Mrs Rivers said: "He said 'go back to your own country' and then he called me a 'nigger'".

She said another two customers, both male, joined in the verbal attack.

Staff at the Asda store in Hollingbury came to her aid after the incident and called the police.

Mrs Rivers, from Patcham, Brighton, said: "I was really scared. He started intimidating me but nobody wanted to help me.

"This could happen again and it could happen to anyone - whether it was homophobic, sexist or racial abuse.

"It's not right people can be picked on while doing their shopping.

"People are not doing their public duty if they look the other way."

The man left the supermarket after the assault.

Mrs Rivers moved to Brighton a year ago and has a three-month-old baby. It was the first time she had been out alone without her husband Chris or her child since the baby was born.

She has been too frightened to return to Asda.

Nick King, a customer service manager at the store, said the hands of his staff were tied because no witnesses to the alleged attack came forward.

He said: "The woman was very upset and distressed and the duty manager spent two hours with her calming her.

"We called the police for her and we are willing to co-operate with police with the CCTV.

"If abuse is witnessed by customers or staff and they are willing to make statements we can get involved. Otherwise it's a civil matter and we can't.

"Unfortunately the law is on the side of the criminal rather than the retailer.

"This was an isolated incident and we don't condone it."

Detective Inspector Fiona Grant, head of the Brighton and Hove police anti-victimisation unit, said: "This is hate crime which we will not tolerate. If we catch the people responsible they could be liable to two years in prison."