POLICE are investigating a hate crime in a Taunton supermarket after a customer who claimed he had coronavirus spat at another shopper.

Officers have released CCTV images of a man they would like to speak to in connection with the assault in Morrisons.

An Avon and Somerset Police spokesman said: "A woman in her 30s was coughed and spat at by a man claiming to have Covid-19.

"We’re treating the incident as a hate crime due to the verbal abuse the man also directed at her."

The offender is described by police as white, around 5ft 7in tall, with a long beard and blond hair.

He was wearing a white T-shirt with a NASA logo on and red sunglasses.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident on Monday, May 18, at around 3pm, or anyone who recognises the man in the images to call 111, giving the call handler the reference number 5220107675.