Plan B Forum

A surfer who was racially abused by a stand-up paddle boarder and told to ‘f*** off back to England’ has described the tirade of verbal abuse he received as ‘disgusting’.



Longboarder Phil Brown, 29, caught the astonishing incident on camera which saw him subjected to the abuse after he accidentally caught the same wave as the stand-up paddle (SUP) boarder.

The footage shows the SUP rider, who had a Saint Piran's Flag – the flag of Cornwall – sticker stuck to the front of his board, launch a number of expletives at Mr Brown during the surf session on Saturday.

In the video the SUP boarder can be heard shouting: ‘You drop in on me like that again and you won’t f*****g surf here again. It’s my wave, keep your f*****g eyes open.’

To which Mr Brown, of Bude, Cornwall, can be heard responding: ‘There’s no need to swear.’

However, the unknown SUP boarder then shouts: ‘Don’t tell me not to f*****g swear – you nearly caused me an accident then.

‘I was on the wave. Don’t do it again. Do it again and I will put you in f*****g hospital and that’s a promise.

Don’t act like a t**t in the water.’

However, despite Mr Brown apologising, the man continues to hurl abuse and exclaims: ‘F*** off back to England you ****.’

Despite Mr Brown pointing out that he is in fact from Cornwall, the man – who appears to have a strong Liverpudlian accent - responds: ‘I was born here’.

Mr Brown can then be heard telling the man it ‘gives him no more right’ but is met by a response of ‘f*** off’ by the SUP rider who then paddles off.

The incident, which occurred off Summerleaze Beach in Bude, Cornwall, has left Mr Brown ‘wary of going back into the water’.

He said: ‘I think he’s bang out of order for the way he spoke to me and the localism he used as well.

‘It’s inappropriate - it shouldn’t be used in any way, shape or form.

‘I’ve heard he’s quite renowned for saying these kinds of things to other people in the water. I’ve heard of at least a handful of people saying the same thing has happened to them.

‘It’s disgusting and it’s just not right.

‘It’s the same as racism. It’s exactly the same thing just in a different manner.

‘I am a bit wary to get back in the water now to be honest. I think I’ll go to a different beach now to avoid him.’

The former Army serviceman and keen surfer added: ‘I was quite shocked. Everyone in Cornwall is pretty laid back – you don’t get that kind of thing usually so to receive that from him was one hell of a shock.

‘I told him I’m from Cornwall but he comes across as if it is his water and almost as if he classes me as a holidaymaker.

‘It shouldn’t make any difference where I’m from - it’s the same water.’

Mr Brown, who served eight years in the Army working in The Queen's Royal Hussars on a battle tank Challenger Two – and was deployed to Afghanistan – said other locals have also been left shocked by the incident.

He said: ‘They all think it’s disgusting the way he was talking to me. There’s no real reason for anyone to talk to anyone else like that.

‘It made me feel horrible and I didn’t appreciate the way he was talking to me.

‘I’ve had suggestions that I should go to the police about it but I don’t really want to go down the formal line.

‘I’m not spiteful and I don’t wish the guy harm, I just want him to know I’m unhappy and I want an apology.’

Mr Brown also said he was left confused by the man’s comment telling him to ‘f*** off back to England’ and said there was no need for localism.

He said: ‘I don’t know if he’s from Cornwall - he has a broad Liverpuddlian accent - but he said at the time “I was born here”.

‘I don’t know what his views are but I certainly don’t think of Cornwall is its own country or anything like that.

‘I know there’s some good old rivalry between Devon and Cornwall but that’s just banter.


It’s unclear what the SUP boarder meant by his racist comment but it appears he holds the view that Cornwall is a separate entity to England and that it should be classed as a different country.

Despite his strong northern accent, the black and white Saint Piran’s flag can be seen stuck to the front of his paddle board which is used by some Cornish people as a symbol of identity.

The view that Cornwall is separate from the rest of England is a view which is long-held by several people from the county, who regard the ‘Kernow’ as distinctly separate from the rest of the British Isles.

A minority believe the Cornish should be considered a separate race or nation, with their own language, society and customs which is distinct from the neighbouring mainland.

Mr Brown, who now manages a brewery in the county, said the whole incident was an accident on his part and said he just wants an apology from the SUP boarder

It’s unclear what the SUP boarder meant by his racist comment but it appears he holds the view that Cornwall is a separate entity to England and that it should be classed as a different country.

‘F*** off back to England you ****.