Three people hospitalised after horrific ‘homophobic attack’ in Blackpool
(Photo by Joe Clarke/Facebook)
Three people were hospitalised after they were beaten in a “homophobic” attack in Blackpool.
Joe Clarke, 22, Summer Tarrant, 20 and David Westworth, 24, went out to drink after finishing work and were on their way home at 5.30 am on Saturday morning.
Clarke explained that as they were walking along Topping Street, a man began to shout “homophobic abuse” at them.
The personal assistant and bar worker says that he was then punched by the man who was shouting which knocked him to the floor, where the beating continued.
“I got punched by a man to the side of my face and I then fell on the floor unconscious,” Clarke recounted to the Fleetwood Weekly News. “My friends told me a man then stamped on my head.”
(Photo by Joe Clarke/Facebook)
Tarrant claims that she was hit in the face by the attackers and forced to watch her friend get beaten on the floor.
Westworth explained that they were all walking back to Clarke’s house “when these men started shouting homophobic abuse at us.”
He said: “They were walking towards us and I tried talking to them and got smacked in the mouth and punched in the face. I fell to the floor and they kicked me in my ribs and stamped all over me.
“I was lying on the floor scrunched in a ball trying to protect my head and face with my arms. It was awful. When I managed to sit up I could see Joe lying unconscious with blood dripping down his face.”
The incident has left all three scared.
(Photo by Joe Clarke/Facebook)
Tarrant no longer feels safe going outside of her home, while Clarke cannot go near to the place the incident reportedly occurred.
“It’s been really painful. I just don’t want to be anywhere near where it happened,” he explained.
The attack has motivated Clarke to want to move away from Blackpool.
“I just want to know why they did it? I have never had anything like this happen to me before. It has just made me feel so unsafe,” he said.
(Photo by JOHN SUPER/AFP/Getty Images)
Westworth added that since the attack, he has not been able to get the picture of his unconscious friend “out of my head”.
He said: “I didn’t know if he would come round or not.”
The 24-year-old added that it’s made him only want to visit gay bars in Blackpool in the future so that he can still feel some level of safety.
“It could have been so much worse. I’ll think twice before going to bars outside the gay scene in Blackpool now,” he said. “It’s a shame because I’ve had good nights out there before and now I feel restricted.”
The incident has been reported to the police who are now on the hunt for the offenders who are believed to be in their mid-late twenties.
A spokesperson for the police confirmed that the trio had “suffered numerous injuries” and were admitted to Blackpool Victoria Hospital for treatment.
“We believe this is an isolated and unprovoked attack,” the spokesperson added.
Anybody with information is urged to call the Blackpool police on 101 quoting crime reference WA1803410.
