£2.4m Security Fund for Mosques And Churches opened after Surge in Reported Hate Crime

Police received 3,254 reports of religious hate crime in 2014/15 - up 43% from 2,269 the year before, the Hate Crime Action Plan said.

Reports of racist, homophobic and anti-transgender hate crime were also all up year-on-year - followed by high-profile attacks in the wake of Brexit.

Now the Home Office will fund fences, doors, bollards, locks, alarms, floodlights and CCTV for religious institutions in a new security clampdown.

Religious venues have an eight-week window, from today until 5pm on 20 September 2016, to bid for funding on the government's website.

A second round of bids will open in spring next year.

The Hate Crime Action Plan revealed several shocking cases, including one of a man who was egged by a man in a car who called him a "dirty f***ing Jew".

A woman who wears a veil in Leicester added: "We’re not just being targeted verbally and being given the cold shoulder, dirty looks and fingers.

"We’re also getting something that has moved slightly further and is a bit more dangerous.

"I’ve had people when I walk past them spit at me and spit at the floor. You can see that it’s a show of disgust."

The plan's measures include new training and advice for schools and journalists, improving victims' support and creating a database of racist symbols so police can recognise them.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said: "In the days after the EU referendum , some European nationals were the targets of abuse.

"Representatives of other ethnic communities have reported anxiety about a climate of increased hostility towards people identified as foreigners.

"It is too early to be sure how widespread the problem is, but the trend is worrying.

"It is utterly unacceptable that people should suffer abuse or attacks because of their nationality or ethnic background. We must stand together against hate crime and ensure that it is stamped out."

Only Jewish institutions will be exempt because they already receive separate funding through the Community Security Trust.