Man left for dead after being punched and stamped on in terrifying ‘homophobic’ attack
Police tape. (Getty)
A man was left unconscious in the street with severe head injuries after he was kicked, punched and bombarded with homophobic slurs.
The victim was discovered by police just before 3am on Saturday (19 August) near an Esso garage in Fleet, Hampshire, according to the Basingstoke Gazette.
Police said he had been to a nearby nightclub with a friend, but after leaving was approached by two men, one of whom he had spoken to inside the club.
One of the men began hurling homophobic comments at the victim, who was then knocked to the ground after being punched in the head.
While he lay unconscious in the street, the attackers proceeded to stamp on him, and then escaped in a dark car, thought to be an Audi.
The victim remains in hospital with serious head injuries.
Police appeal for witnesses
One of the alleged attackers, a 25-year-old man from Hayes, has been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm, but has been released pending further investigation.
The second suspect has not been yet been identified, and Hampshire Police are appealing for information.
A spokesperson for the force told the Basingstoke Gazette: “Officers wish to identify and locate the unknown man seen to leave the scene in the dark coloured car and are appealing for witnesses to come forward.
Local police are urging anyone with information to call on 101, and quoting 44220338242.
Just two days before the Hampshire attack, two gay men were “stamped on and stripped” in a horrifying homophobic gang attack in London.
One of the victims described how three people “stamped on his head” and “assaulted” his friend while a woman acted as a look-out, before trying to throw him in the the River Thames.
Police identified the attack as a “homophobic hate crime from the outset”, and within 24 hours had arrested two suspects.
A recent report showed that anti-LGBTQ+ crime in the UK had doubled in the past five years.
