Man hospitalised after bravely defending his two gay friends in brutal and bloody ‘homophobic’ attack
Lee Brobson bravely stood up for his pals before being brutally beaten up by two men. (Facebook)
A British man brutally beaten up by two “homophobic” men after bravely standing up for his pals has spoken out about the “disgusting” ordeal.
Lee Brobson, 30, described to PinkNews how he and two pals enjoyed a few drinks in Chelmsford, England, before bouncing to another bar in the early hours of January 26.
With his two gay pals, Dan and Clark, holding hands behind him, he spotted two men staring at them and decided to engage them.
“And that was it, they was straight on to us,” Brobson said, “they came charging over, shouting all the homophobic slurs, ‘faggot’, ‘it’s unnatural’.
“All the unfortunate, common ones.”
What happened to Lee Brobson?
Walking down Moulsham Street on their way to Bar 7, the group noticed two men watching them near to Mr Ram & Mrs Cod, a local fish and chip shop by the city centre.
“We spotted these two guys staring at us, following us down the road with their eyes.
“Clark decided to engage with them and said hello, to ask what they’re staring at.”
(PinkNews)
But as soon as he did, their night out became mired by violence as the men launched countless homophobic insults at them.
“I tired to calm them down,” Brobson said, “and dismiss it, but they grabbed my friend and pulled him back.
“It’s 2020, and we’re just off doing out own thing. They weren’t having any of it and that’s when they punched me down.
“They were going in for blood,” he said, and added, “it was hurtful and disgusting.”
‘Homophobia or hate crimes do not have a place in modern day society.’
Lee Brobson endured the punches to protect his friends, posting the bloodied pictures on his Facebook.
The injuries Brobson suffered resulted in nine hours in hospital and the bartender being signed off work until Saturday. He described his eyes feeling “puffy” and his arm aching days on since the incident.
Brobson said his buddies have taken the incident in their “stride”, while he himself is raising money for the Terrence Higgins Trust as well as the Switchboard LGBT+ Helpline.
“I’m determined that something good will come from this even if they never get caught,” he said.
I hope it brings awareness to attacks of this nature and people can be educated in that what they did was wrong.
“Homophobia or hate crimes do not have a place in modern day society.”
“I’ve even had messages from Grindr – even the blank profiles – saying ‘good on your for taking them on’, the response has been absolutely amazing.”
Homophobic hate crimes have doubled in the last five years.
The rate of homophobic hate crime has more than doubled in England and Wales in the last five years, according to statistics, raising a spectre of increasing violence against the community.
“It’s incredibly scary,” Brobson explained.
Local law enforcement are treating the incident as a hate crime, currently combing surveillance footage to identify the suspects.
Essex Police released a statement: “We received a report of an assault in Chelmsford during the early hours of Sunday, January 26.
“It was reported that two men were being verbally abusive towards two other men on Moulsham Street.
“The men were then said to assault a man in his 20s and a man in his 30s, before running off.
“Officers arrived and a man in his 30s was taken to hospital and treated for injuries not believed to be serious.
“Enquiries are ongoing and our priority at this stage is to speak with the victims to establish the full circumstances of what happened, so that the assault can be investigated appropriately.
“Anyone who witnessed the incident are asked to contact Chelmsford local police station on 101, quoting reference 42/13695/20.”
