A NUMBER of musicians have formed a group to fight against “hate and discrimination” in Furness.

Members of Rock Against Hate will put on concerts to raise awareness of the issues in an effort to tackle discrimination locally.

All but two of the nine-strong committee are local musicians, who will be hosting concerts to drive their message home.

Committee member Janine Adams said the group was formed in response to recent incidents involving hate speech and discrimination.

She said: “Members of our committee has picked some up homophobic comments when they have been out.

“There is also a lot going on around the Syrian families who are residing locally.

“One of members is a taxi driver and hears a lot.

“We have formed this group to combat this.

“It is about coming together through music and showing that that kind of behaviour will not be tolerated.

“There are a lot of misconceptions around racism and Islamophobia, especially in the media and on Facebook.

“A lot of what people say is not true, it’s myth.”

Miss Adams said the group wanted to rise above politics and educate people on issues relating to discrimination,

She said: “It is not politics. It is easy to get caught up in politics but that’s not what Rock Against Hate is about.

“We have all got our political stances and what we believe in, but this is something we all believe in.

“We want everyone to be able to live in a community that is accepting.”

The committee is made of musicians, including Dalton councillor Shaun Blezard and Paul Kell from Dalton’s Newton Arms.

The group’s launch event will see seven bands take to the stage at The Newton Arms in Dalton on June 14 at 7pm.

More shows are planned.

Some members of the group were recently part of the protest against the far-right activist Tommy Robinson when he came to Barrow to speak as part of his European election campaign.

The team will be leafleting at the Kick Off 4 Mental Health event at Hawcoat Park on Saturday.