THREE men have been arrested after footage emerged showing a gang of thugs telling a tram passenger to "go back to Africa".

The sickening video, taken in Manchester on Tuesday, caught three hooded youths yell at the man - who was minding his own business during the morning commute.

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Manchester Police have now confirmed three men, aged 20 and 18, and a 16-year-old boy, have been arrested on suspicion of affray.

The gentleman, who speaks with a foreign accent, calmly tells the gang to stop the racist abuse on the packed carriage.

But the vicious tirade continues as the hooligans screech: "F*****g get off the train now. Don't chat s**t or get deported."

Adding: "Don't chat shit when you're not even from England, you little f****** immigrant. Get off the f****** tram now. Get back to Africa.

"Salford! F****** immigrant!"

The man responds by asking the youths how old they are.

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He fires back: "How old are you, 18 or 19? I have been here longer than you. You are extremely ignorant and unintelligent."

Fellow passengers remain largely quiet until one of the group steps towards the man and flicks what appears to be beer over him and a nearby pram.

The thugs then step off the vehicle as passengers yell "disgrace" at them.

Another storms: "You are an absolute disgrace. A disgrace to England."

Following the arrest Chief Inspector Gareth Parkin said: "I would like to thank the public for their help and support in this investigation, which has led to the swift arrest of these three people."

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He had earlier condemned the incident, saying: "This is a disgusting display of abuse which quite frankly has no place in society.

"All hate incidents are treated with the utmost severity and this behaviour will not be tolerated in Greater Manchester."

Fellow passengers described how some were left "crying" following the "horrible" verbal assault.

The footage sparked outrage as it quickly spread via social media.

Former Labour Health Secretary and candidate for Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham tweeted: "People in Greater Manchester who voted Leave did NOT vote for this. We must all come together to defeat the hate."

Outgoing Prime Minister David Cameron vowed to smash racist abuse that has grown in the days following Britain's decision to leave the European Union on Thursday.

In the wake of more than 200 hate crimes last week, Cameron stormed: "We’ve seen despicable graffiti daubed on a Polish community centre, we’ve seen verbal abuse hurled at individuals because they’re members of ethnic minorities.

"We will not stand for hate crime or these kinds of attacks. They must be stamped out.”

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