Gay couple opens up about their ‘decade of hell’ at the hands of homophobes
(WalesOnline)
A gay couple has suffered from 10 years of “hell” at the hands of homophobes.
David Jones and Ben Fennell say they’ve suffered from repeated attacks which culminated with large rocks being thrown at their home in south Wales three times on New Year’s Day.
The assault on their home left Ben, 40, in emergency care, after one of the projectiles hit him.
(WalesOnline)
South Wales Police have said that a man has been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and assault.
But David, 35, said that locals had been terrorising him and his partner for a decade.
“We don’t know when the next attack is coming,” he said.
(WalesOnline)
“We’re just waiting…hoping that it doesn’t happen again.”
He added: “It’s very concerning and worrying.
“If I go out the front and there are kids in the street I go in the back garden. If there are kids in the park near our garden, then I go back in the house.
“You are constantly checking over your shoulder and being cautious of what you are doing.”
(WalesOnline)
When it started, he said, “it was quite trivial”.
“Kids would sometimes bang on our front door or shout ‘gay boy’ at us as we walked past.
“The police were informed but because we couldn’t actually specify anyone who was doing it, we thought ‘there you go, there’s nothing we can do.'”
(WalesOnline)
After two years of this low-level harassment, a fire extinguisher was thrown through the couple’s window.
Ben and David responded by putting up security cameras, but it didn’t stop the attacks.
The house was bombarded with everything from bricks, stones and BB bullets to eggs, toy cars and snowballs.
One of the bricks thrown at Ben and David’s home (WalesOnline)
One of the cameras was even ripped off the outside of the house.
David has suffered from anxiety since someone first smashed a window at the house five years ago.
He said he would do whatever it took to stay in his home.
“It’s a nice community,” said David.
“We keep ourselves to ourselves with this kind of thing because the last thing we want to do is say something to someone and get something back from them because it’s their kids doing it.
(WalesOnline)
“A lot of the people are nice and it’s just the few that let it down unfortunately.”
He explained: “The house has got a tie to Ben because his late grandmother paid for it.
“We are staying here no matter what – we are not giving in. If we go, these people will only start doing this to someone else. It will all stop one way or another.
“All I want to do is live my life here and be able to take the cameras down without fear,” David added.
Watch David talk about how he’s suffered:
