A man who had his leg injured in a racially-motivated attack has described the ordeal as incredibly traumatic.

The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, said that both he and a woman were chatting when they were both subjected to racial abuse before being attacked by a group of men, one of whom was armed with a baton.

Police are treating three assaults and criminal damage in the Waterside area of Londonderry on Sunday night as racially-motivated hate crimes and believe they may be linked.

Supt Sinead McIldowney said there was "no place in our city for this shameful type of behaviour".

Speaking to BBC News NI, the man said he was now afraid to go out following the attack.

"I got back from work as a carer and I was going to play video games down at my friend's place, so I was about to cross at the traffic lights.

"My sister [his friend] was driving after coming back from work, so she parked by the side of Bond Street. As it had been a while since we had seen each other, we wanted to catch up and were having a laugh."

He said the men approached them and asked where they were from and why they were laughing before shouting racial abuse and attacking his friend's car.

"They just started hitting my sister's [friend's] car windscreen and, because she was a lady, I couldn't run on my own. I couldn't just leave her stuck there because I was scared they could probably open a door. They were already punching her through the window.

"So, when she drove off, I was about to escape, but five of them blocked the entrance. You know, it's just a one-way entrance, so five of them just blocked it and surrounded me. They were trying to hit me, so I was trying to guard my head... The next thing I felt was this 'bam' on my knee with, like, a metal rod."

He said the man tried to force him to the ground during the beating but he managed to escape and sought refuge in a friend's house before calling the police.

"I feel traumatised, both physically and mentally drained," he said.

"I don't know who to trust anymore."

"I can be going down the street tomorrow now and I see like three people gathered, I would be scared.

"Even when I was at the hospital I couldn't sleep well because if I was sleeping and I just heard voices, I just keep thinking maybe they are coming for me again."

The sister of the woman, who does not wish to be named in order to protect her identity, said her sister was punched in the back and that the attackers also struck her car, smashing the windscreen.

She said her sister had been deeply traumatised by the ordeal.

"My sister was punched and then they hit the windscreen, because she was already screaming, her mouth was open and when they hit the windscreen some of the glass particles went into her mouth."

She said her sister managed to get back into her car and drive away but has been left very shaken.

She said she could not understand why those responsible for the attack had targeted her siblings.

"We are not troubling anyone and they were picked on because of their colour and it doesn't make any sense.

"They just picked out random people going about their day. It's sickening."

She added that her sister had been living and working in Derry since 2021, and described the city as home.

The police said the incident occurred at about 21:00 GMT on Sunday when the woman stopped her vehicle near Dales Corner.

Police said she was punched and the windscreen of her vehicle was smashed during the incident.

At about 21:20, they said a man was reportedly confronted by a number of males as he walked along the Bond Street and Dales Corner area before being struck to the lower body with an iron bar.

A third incident was then reported at about 21:30, when another man was allegedly assaulted inside licensed premises in the area after he managed to escape and get to safety.

Gaëlle Gormley, from the North West Migrants' Forum, described the attacks as "disgraceful and horrific".

Speaking to BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme she said violence directed against anyone based on race, skin colour or ethnicity had "no place in this country and in this era".

She said the attacks must have "felt like a horror movie" for the victim and perpetrators of racist violence should face harsher punishments.

"The law must be changed and adapted," she said.

"It must punish more severely any hate action and also online hate posts, targeting people of different skin colour, origins and ethnicity."

Sinn Féin councillor Christopher Jackson called the attacks "sickening".

"Our minority ethnic communities make a valuable contribution to our city and they are welcomed by the vast majority of people of Derry and that needs to continue," Jackson said.

"But we need those responsible for these sickening actions to be held accountable."