A mosque has been defaced with offensive graffiti targeting Muslims.
The words “Muslim cowards” were sprayed onto the wall of the Thornaby Muslim Association in the early hours of Monday morning.
Those who attend the mosque, on Westbury Street, Thornaby , say they have been “overwhelmed” by the public response.
Hundreds of messages of support flooded in from the community after images were posted on social media.
A spokesman for the mosque, who did not want to be named, said: “It happened between 1am and 3am.
“The last congregation left about quarter to one and the next arrived at about 3am.
“As a community we are not here to do harm.
“The response we’ve had has been overwhelming.
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“We’ve had nearly 300 comments on Facebook to say they are disgusted with what’s happened.
“People are saying they either want to donate money or volunteer to come down and paint it.”
One woman even bought a tin of paint and stood out in the rain trying to paint over the hateful words.
The spokesperson added: “She was a mother that was standing there with a roller, painting in the rain.
“We can see the disgust on people’s faces. She paid £18 for a tin of paint.
“I have been coming to the mosque for 35 years and there has never been an issue before.
“When I first saw it, my heart sank.
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“Then I was told to look on Facebook and I was just wowed.
“We live amongst such amazing people and there is just one individual who has done this.”
Stockton Council has since sent a team to cover up the graffiti.
Comments on social media showed an overwhelming amount of support for Thornaby’s Muslim community.
One person wrote: “Disgusting, we don’t want this in Thornaby. We are a caring town who embrace our true Muslim neighbours.
“These terror attacks to not represent Islam.”
Another said: “I’m ashamed this has happened in my town.”
The graffiti was deemed “absolutely horrific”, “narrow minded” and “ignorant”.
Thornaby Muslim Association was set up in 1976 by six Muslim families who lived in Thornaby. Now, around 300 people attend the mosque.
During prayers on a Friday, the teachers speak to children about issues and allow them to voice their opinions.
It is customary for Muslims to visit the mosque in the early hours of the morning during the month of Ramadan.
A Cleveland Police spokeswoman said: "We received a call in the early hours of today, reporting graffiti on a wall of the mosque in Westbury Street, Thornaby and have arranged to speak to a representative from the mosque later today. In the meantime we would reiterate that this type of activity is completely unacceptable and that we are treating it as a hate crime.
"We would always encourage anyone who believes they have been victim of a hate crime to contact us, or if they do not want to speak to police, go via the True Vision organisation."
Anyone with information on the person responsible for this incident is asked to contact Cleveland Police via the 101 number.