Police have confirmed that they are treating the case of 'white supremacists' posters spotted on major roads in Basingstoke as a hate incident.

The posters carrying the slogan ‘It’s okay to be white’ were spotted on lampposts on Cliddesden Road, New Road and also on Worting Road.

Hampshire Constabulary have now confirmed that they are treating the case as a hate incident and liaising with local community groups for more details.

A spokesperson for the Hampshire Constabulary said: “We were made aware of a number of posters that were placed on lampposts on Cliddesden Road, New Road and Worting Road in Basingstoke.

“Some of the posters have since been removed and Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s street cleaning team has been tasked to remove them fully.

“This has been recorded as a hate incident and we are now liaising with our local community groups.”

'It's okay to be white' (IOTBW) is an alt-right slogan started in the United States based on an organised trolling campaign supported by white supremacists, including neo-Nazis.

This is not the first time IOTBW posters have been displayed in the UK.

In July last year, similar posters were displayed at the entrance of a shopping centre in Somerset.

Reacting to the Basingstoke posters which were put up on Tuesday night, Priya Brown, a local resident, said the fact that they were put up near schools and colleges was quite worrying.

“These posters were on school routes and a lot of people including kids have seen them,” said Priya, who was also a Women’s Equality Party candidate for Eastrop and Grove in the last elections.

“My friend, who was walking the dog at around 7.30am, alerted me about it. This wasn’t nice and it was on every single lamppost on Cliddesden Road."

Priya immediately contacted Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, who advised her to contact the Highways Agency because the posters were on street-lighting.

“I spoke to the agency, and they said they would remove it as soon as possible. They told me that they would prioritise it because it’s a hate crime message. At least it appears it that way because it sprung up overnight,” she added.

“There were a couple of residents who were quite upset about it. They removed some of these posters. My friend’s husband also took down as many posters as possible.”