Police are appealing for witnesses after a man was subjected to a homophobic attack while walking home from a night out in Blackpool.
Another day and, sadly, another incident of homophobia in the UK to report on.
The victim had been walking home from local Birmingham LGBT+ venue the Flying Handbag between 2am and 2.30am on December 9 when the attack took place, according to a report from Lancashire Constabulary.
The man, aged in his 40s, was walking along Palatine Road in the direction of Central Drive, when two men approached him and asked if he had attended the Flying Handbag and if he was gay, before punching him to the side of the head and knocking him unconscious.
“This is a serious attack”, said Detective Con Paul Edmondson of Blackpool CID. “We are keen to speak to anyone who may have seen the incident, or who may have CCTV in the nearby area”.
The offenders are described as white, aged between 20 to 40-years-old and between 5ft 7ins and 5ft 9ins tall.
The UK has seen a surge in violence against LGBTQ+ people in 2021 and sadly this is just another case to add to the pile of increasingly alarming statistics.
The UK Government’s National LGBT Survey found that 40% of respondents experienced a negative incident in the 12 months before the survey, rising to an astonishing 54% for trans people. Since then, reports of hate crime have increased even further.
Anyone with any information about the incident in Blackpool is encouraged to contact 101 or email 3291@lancashire.police.uk quoting log number 0995 of December 9. You can also reach out to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.