A ROCK musician has called for a fresh look at hate crime law after he was told he was going to be stabbed just for the way he looked.

Ol Drake, lead guitarist in Huddersfield thrash metal band Evile, said he was shaken up after he was targeted by a group of four youths as he took a bus journey from his home in Meltham.

Ol, whose band has recently achieved worldwide fame, said he was used to verbal insults because of his image but became scared when some of the teenagers began to say they would stab him because he had long hair.

No knife was produced but now the 26-year-old has called for action to stamp out hate crime against alternatively dressed people.

Ol said: “A lot of people like me get it all the time, if you have long hair or you dress a bit differently.

“Through school I got it but back then it didn’t matter, it was just kids having a laugh.

“But now it’s not kids having a laugh, it’s kids being quite serious.

“I thought I’d go to the police but they said they couldn’t do anything unless they actually put a knife in me or were stood there while the abuse happened.”

Ol said he had written about the incident on his band’s website.

He said that after a number of insults they started talking about stabbing him and added on his web diary: “Getting off when I get off and stabbing me. In this day and age, you don’t do that.

“These kids were about 12 going on 15 (that’s years, not brain cells), and knowing of the many, many stabbings that go on in the UK this made me quite unsettled. Still, I didn’t rise to anything or threaten them back.”

Ol said that after putting the comments on the website he received numerous messages from fans saying they also suffered abuse for their looks.

And he said while racism, homophobia and discrimination against the disabled are illegal, there is currently no legislation banning verbal abuse against people because of their image.

He added: “I wish there was something more that could be done for people so they feel safe.

“It’s not illegal to make fun of someone, but ask anyone, it’s not great to not want to walk out your front door because you’re afraid of being stabbed.”

The incident echoes the horrifying murder of Sophie Lancaster in 2007.

The 20-year-old from Lancashire was kicked to death as she tried to protect her boyfriend from two youths who had targeted them because of their Goth style images.

Both youths were later jailed for murder.

And in 2008 Leeds student Paul Gibbs was left in a coma and had his ear cut off after he was attacked for being a Goth.

Following Sophie’s murder a charity Sophie (Stamp Out Prejudice, Hatred and Intolerance Everywhere) was set up in her honour with an aim of having hate crime law extended.

MP Jason McCartney said he would raise the matter with the Home Office to see if there were any plans to change hate crime legislation.

He added: “We live in a free and fair society and any threats of violence against someone for the way they look is totally unacceptable.

“I will do whatever I can to stamp it out.”

Evile have been making a name since their debut album in 2007 – but tragedy struck the group last October with the untimely death of their late bassist, Mike Alexander, whose place was taken by Joel Graham.