Elham Asaad Buaras
A Muslim family in Cheadle, Stockport, has been left traumatised after a pig’s head was deliberately placed on the gates of their home, in what police are treating as a suspected hate crime.
Camran Butt, 41, said he and his wife were shocked when they discovered the grisly scene while taking their two young children to school on the morning of January 9.
“My children were joking about seeing a fox, and I thought they were messing around. Then I saw it on the ground and immediately thought, ‘What on earth has happened here?’” said Butt. To protect his children from the full horror, he initially told them it was a dead pigeon.
CCTV footage later revealed two people approaching the property and attaching the pig’s head to the front gate. Butt said the perpetrators appeared to act with a level of planning, not like casual vandals. “It was very professional – this wasn’t just kids throwing eggs or graffiti,” he said.
The family live in a mixed community with Jewish, Hindu, and other Muslim residents. Butt explained that they are not outwardly practising Muslims and are not easily identifiable by appearance. “This attack has completely come out of nowhere,” he said. “I haven’t been in the public eye, and we haven’t posted anything online that could explain this.”
The incident has left the family feeling vulnerable. “My wife is really shaken. She feels exposed and worried about what might happen next,” Butt added. He also expressed gratitude to neighbours, who have reached out in support and offered to stay alert to protect the family.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed the investigation into the incident. “We are investigating a suspected hate crime following reports of an incident on Bruntwood Lane, Cheadle, in the early hours of Friday, 9 January 2026,” a spokesperson said.
Chief Inspector Lisa Devitt, of Stockport district, condemned the act. “This was an appalling and deliberate attack on a family home. No one should be subjected to behaviour like this. We are treating this as a hate crime and are doing everything possible to identify those responsible.”
Stockport has seen similar incidents in the past. In December 2022, a pig’s head was thrown onto the roof of Heaton’s Muslims’ Community Trust building in Mersey, Stockport, highlighting a disturbing pattern of targeted attacks.
Photo: CCTV footage from a property in Cheadle, Stockport, shows two people attaching a pig’s head to the front gate of a Muslim family’s home on January 9 (Credit: CCTV/Camran Butt)
