Rising fear 'It has become acceptable to say negative things about Muslims'

The driver was said to have slowed down to let Misbah Sadique, 37, T and her friend Kulsum cross the road.

- Daniel Boffey & Neha Gohil

They were close to home in Waltham Forest and felt safe in a part of east London they knew well. But, as they stepped out, the car in front of them suddenly, inexplicably, accelerated, one of the women later alleged.

It is said that Kulsum was thrown to the ground by the force of the impact and that Misbah was dragged under the vehicle.

Three weeks later, she remains in hospital, traumatised and facing a long road to recovery.

The driver gave a statement by the side of the road and the police have categorised what happened as a road traffic incident. No arrests were made.

But Misbah and Kulsum had both been wearing hijabs. Misbah, who has given a statement to the police in recent days, is calling, with the support of her family and the Islamophobia Response Unit charity, for the incident further on 1 February investigated to be as a potential hate crime. "The immense emotional distress and trauma [of the incident] was made worse as we felt the people who were supposed to protect us and make us feel safe were disregarding their duty of care to us," said Nazia Tayyib, a cousin of Misbah's, speaking on her behalf.