Chesterfield Law Centre was awarded £211,016 from the Big Lottery's Reaching Communities Fund for the project which will help people who are the victims of harassment because of their race, age, gender, sexual orientation or disability.

It follows a three-year Racial Harassment Project, which helped 853 people until funding ran out in April.

The Law Centre's Sarah Roy said: "We hope that this funding will bring positive changes in our community and improve people's confidence to come forward and speak out when they experience harassment and hate incidents.

"They are particularly disturbing and difficult for people because the perpetrator attacks the very core of who you are and tries to blame you for the harassment."

There were 160 hate crime incidents recorded by the police in NE Derbyshire last year, the vast majority of which were racially motivated.

National figures show people will suffer an average of 15 incidents before they report the crime, while the Law Centre estimates that about three quarters of people harassed won't go to the police at all.

Sarah added: "We will be working to raise awareness within the local community about the impact this has on victims and increase people's understanding of the laws that protect them and the steps that can be taken to make the harassment stop.

"That kind of knowledge makes people experiencing these kind of attacks more powerful and sends out the message that we won't put up with it in North Eastern Derbyshire."

The Law Centre will carry out free training for local groups and produce a DVD featuring local people about the issue.

% Anyone experiencing harassment can contact the Law Centre on (01246) 550674 or visit the website www.chesterfieldlawcentre.org.uk for free advice.