VILE racist abuse filmed at an Ongar petrol station and uploaded on to the internet has prompted a police investigation.
Footage showing a white man hurling abuse at a cashier working at the BP petrol station, at the Four Wantz roundabout, was posted on YouTube.
The man, wearing a blue jumper, can be heard repeatedly shouting racist insults at the employee, who appears to be of Asian descent.
The tirade of abuse lasts several minutes and takes place at night as the man buys cigarettes from the outside window counter.
The manager of the petrol station said the incident was not reported to police, because such abuse happens "all the time".
As such, it is not clear when the abuse took place.
The man filming the video refers to the abuser as "Goldy".
The maker of the video can be heard sniggering and remarking "this is going on YouTube".
Several users of web forums cite murdered ex-gangster William "Billyboy" Martindale as the man behind the camera.
Mr Martindale, 39, from Cripsey Avenue, was murdered in High Ongar on September 7.
It is believed Mr Martindale, who used YouTube to post intimidating messages, first uploaded the racist video before later removing it.
It was subsequently reloaded by a user named "John Doe" with the aim of getting police to "act on Goldy".
BP said the company has a policy of not accepting physical or verbal abuse aimed at its staff and that it would be looking to secure a prosecution against the man.
Police officers are working with petrol station staff to determine when the incident took place.
PC Mark Sheridan-Brown, neighbourhood constable for Ongar, said: "This is disturbing racist abuse. There appears to be no motive, but we would like to identify the perpetrator, arrest him and ask why.
"Racist behaviour of any sort is abhorrent and is always treated seriously by Essex Police.
"We want to encourage anyone who is the victim or witness of any incident or crime to report it to the police immediately in the knowledge that Essex Police will respond and investigate."
Anyone with information is asked to call Ongar police station on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
