Gay Scottish NHS worker whose car was doused by acid in ‘homophobic’ attack is forced to flee to England
Greg Mahony (right) and his husband Andy Pielorz (left) were reading in bed when paint stripper was poured over their car. (Greg Mahony/ Facebook)
A gay NHS worker whose car was doused in acid has been forced to sell his house and move to England to escape homophobic abuse.
Greg Mahony, 33, provides translation services for blind and deaf patients in Scotland. He’s also a singer and drag queen known online as Gay Greg.
He and his husband Andy Pielorz had lived happily in Port Seton, East Lothian, until a campaign of homophobic abuse drove them from their home.
“Port Seton looked perfect for me and Andy, but got nasty when I had my car attacked for no apparent reason other than we’re a gay couple,” he told the Scottish Sun.
Mahony previously described the terrifying attack on his car, which occurred as he and his husband were peacefully reading in bed.
Captured on the couple’s home CCTV at 1.15am on July 13, a masked person dressed in grey can be seen pouring a corrosive substance all over their Honda Civic.
With their car being the only one in the street damaged, Mahony was certain theirs was specifically targeted because of their sexuality.
“It was motivated. He knew exactly where our car was. It’s parked around a corner and he came right up to it,” he said.
“It makes us feel unsafe in our own home, that people can come up and target you like this. He was literally just outside as we were reading in bed.”
He says the hate began after he posted an advertisement for adult male dancers to appear in his music video. It sparked a torrent of online abuse, and the couple faced threats of a protest outside their home in a bid to get them to move.
Police confirmed to the Scottish Sun that they’d investigated the online slurs but established no criminality.
Now after months of fear, Mahony and his husband have opted to move to the south of England for a fresh start.
“We have sold our lovely house — we can’t stand to be around these bigots anymore,” he said.
Elsewhere in Scotland, another gay man was recently driven from his home by a gang of teenage thugs who routinely harassed him because of his sexuality.
