Ryanair has been criticised for apparently failing to remove a passenger from a flight after racial abuse of a woman in her 70s. Facebook / David Lawrence
The Ryanair passenger who racially abused a Windrush immigrant is a former railway worker described as a "weirdo" by his neighbours.
David Mesher was identified by his neighbours and a former work colleague as the man at the centre of the shocking video, the Daily Mail reported.
Delsie Gayle, 77, was called an "ugly black b*****d" by a fellow passenger after they boarded a flight in Barcelona last week, but he was not removed from the plane.
He was also filmed shouting "don't speak to me in a f****** foreign language" while on board the plane.
Ryanair has been criticised for its handling of the incident as the man was not kicked off the flight nor were the authorities in Spain informed about the incident. Instead, Gayle was moved to another aisle while Mesher continued to sit in his own seat.
Essex Police revealed this morning that the force had now identified the white man – although the case is now being led by detectives in Spain.
An Essex Police spokesman said today: "We have worked to identify both parties involved in this incident and passed this information to the Spanish authorities, who are leading on this investigation.
"Our officers will continue to provide assistance where necessary throughout the course of this case."
Until his retirement Mesher worked as a train announcer for London Midland Railways.
He had previously worked at Waterloo Station in London in the main ticket office as an employee of British Rail.
A former colleague told MailOnline he was stunned to recognise 70-year-old Mesher on the video that has been seen worldwide and condemned by MPs and Downing Street.
The colleague said: "It is 30 years since I last worked with David and he was not like the person you see on the video.
"He was in the ticket office at Waterloo station and was always so polite. He would not be rude to anyone, otherwise he would not have been dealing with the public.
"It was a real shock to see him and the vile language that the used. He should be condemned for that. It was awful. That isn't the David Mesher I remember when we worked together."
Mesher also worked in Essex and lived with his elderly mum until her death. He has never married.
The former colleague said Mesher would often attend musical concerts in London and was an avid collector of classical music.
He said they lost contact when Mesher moved to Birmingham from Barking in East London where he lived with his mother.
Neighbours at his sheltered accommodation told Mail Online they were appalled by his abuse towards another passenger.
One man said: "He is a racist pig and bully and everyone here recognises his face from the TV news and papers.
"What he did was totally out order and he should be punished. I can't imagine he would have behaved that way to that lady if a man had been present with her.
"But he won't get arrested because it happened on Spanish soil."
His next door neighbour told how Mr Mesher, who lives alone in the self-contained flat, was "a weirdo and a real nuisance".
"No one really likes him. He keeps himself to himself and we don't know much about him but we all knew he was going off to Spain on holiday."
The resident revealed that Mesher often showed "no respect for other people."
He told how a few months ago how his neigbour was "driving me mad by playing music loudly and continuously on a loop."
He explained: "I banged on his door to ask him to turn it down and he wasn't even in. How inconsiderate is that?
"It was no annoying hearing the same old tune over and again that I pulled the emergency cord to alert staff to his flat and they managed to go in and sort it out in his absence."
Barcelona City Hall has joined the fight to make sure the white man filmed racially abusing a black disabled woman on board a Ryanair flight is brought to justice.
Officials vowed to report the sickening incident - which took place on a Ryanair plane leaving the Catalan capital for London - to Spanish prosecutors.
The pledge came as Barcelona mayoress Ada Colau attacked Ryanair over their response to the racist attack and branded the man filmed abusing UK Windrush migrant Delsie Gayle, 77, as a "swine."
The city's deputy mayor also appealed on Twitter for witnesses to come forward.
Ada Colau wrote: "Thank you, by the way, to the person who made the video, because it brought to public attention an event that can't go unpunished.
"As the mayor of a feminist city that fights against all forms of discrimination, the images in the video are unbearable to me. So I can't even imagine how the victim of this aggression felt. The flight was leaving Barcelona, and Barcelona isn't going to take something like this lying down."
Ryanair victim: If I'd abused a white man, I would have been arrested The grandmother who was subjected to a torrent of racist abuse on a Ryanair flight yesterday revealed that the ordeal has left her feeling depressed.
Delsie Gayle, 77, heaped criticism on the budget airline by questioning why they failed to remove the offending passenger despite watching him repeatedly abusing her.
Mrs Gayle and her family were in a state of 'utter shock' last night as the Irish airline had still not contacted them, despite a public outcry over its handling of the incident.
