A YOUTH charity leader has spoken of the 'appalling' and 'shocking' racist and Islamophobic abuse he has received in the wake of the Finsbury Park mosque terrorist attack.

Saeed Atcha, from Bolton, is the CEO of charity Xplode magazine and at trustee of two Bolton charities, Home-start Bolton and Beacon Bolton.

Late on Sunday night he tweeted about what had happened before quoting a tweet from former EDL leader Tommy Robinson.

Mr Robinson's tweet said: "Before people start aiming hate or threats at me about this revenge attack at your mosque tonight, I've warned for yrs what you will create."

In response to this, Mr Atcha said: "Revenge attack"?? This is not a game, have some decency. And who do you refer to as "what *u* will create and *your* mosque"?".

Following his response, a tirade of abuse was sent to the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service winner.

This included comments telling him to 'fix his face' and that 'it was only a matter of time until someone got fed up with you Muslims and snapped'.

Other tweets sent to Mr Atcha included 'Life's a bitch, so is payback' and 'you're just sick and tired of them calling it a terror attack when one of your own does it on a daily basis... all over the world'.

Mr Atcha has previously won the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, the Prime Minister's Points of Light and Rotary International's Young Person of the Year Award.

Speaking about what happened, he said: "I just started getting all sorts of abuse coming through.

"I'm used to getting tweets that don't agree with what I say but it was just shocking to be honest. I think it is appalling that people think that they can say things like that and exercise the whole freedom of speech think.

"I think it is appalling and it is wrong that people have the nerve to tweet that, especially to me, it has nothing to do with me."

Mr Atcha said that he is now 'toying' with the idea of reporting the abuse as a hate crime as he thinks 'that was what it was'.

He continued: "I think our resolve is being tested. It is these tweets and what people are saying that is driving us apart."

He added that he does not believe that the people who have carried out recent attacks in Manchester and London are Muslims as they have carried out such atrocities.