Jun 23 2012 By Stuart MacDonald
Mohammed Hanif punched a racist yob but could face jail himself
A HERO who tackled a racist yob has told of his shock after an insurance firm cancelled his cover when they found out about the case.
Mohammed Hanif, 45, was taken to court after being charged with assaulting Thomas O'Dwyer, who abused him and threatened staff in a shop.
He pled guilty to pushing the lout and causing him to hit his head off a shelf but a sheriff told him he would be admonished later this year if he stayed out of trouble.
Now the dad-of-three has had his home insurance cancelled by Royal Sun Alliance after he confessed to the conviction.
Mohammed, of Holytown, Lanarkshire, said: "I had a leak which caused severe damage to the flooring and I phoned up the insurance company to make a claim.
"They originally told me they would cover me for the damage, so I thought everything would be fine.
"But then they asked if I'd had any convictions since I last renewed my insurance. I told them about the case.
"I then got a call saying not only would my claim be turned down but that they were cancelling my insurance altogether.
Mohammed, who faces a £1200 bill for the damage to his bathroom, added: "I couldn't believe it, it's an absolute joke. I was honest with them about my conviction and I told them I'm likely to be admonished when I go back to court but it didn't make any difference."
In February, Hamilton Sheriff Court heard how O'Dwyer had threatened Mohammed and called him a "black b******" at Shopsmart in Wishaw last April.
When he refused to leave, Mohammed, who lost his job over the incident, pushed the teen and he hurt his head.
But Sheriff Shiona Waldron said there had been "considerable provocation" and deferred sentence for six months for good behaviour.
O'Dwyer, 17, was sentenced to 80 hours' community service.
Mohammed later tackled two knife raiders on his first day in a new job at a shop in Airdrie.
He added: "The damage to the bathroom is going to cost me a small fortune to get fixed and I am only working part time.
"I've had a real run of bad luck."
Last night, a spokesman for Royal Sun Alliance said they were reviewing Mohammed's file after being informed about the background to the case.
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