Man left bloodied and bruised in cruel ‘homophobic’ attack. He was just standing outside of a pub
Police are appealing after a man was left with a black eye and a bloodied nose in an alleged homophobic attack.
The victim, who is thought to be in his 30s, was stood with his friends outside an Oxfordshire pub, The Brasenose Arms, when a group of men leaving the venue approached.
They made homophobic comments towards him before launching an attack, said Thames Valley Police.
Two men in the group punched the victim in the face before they fled in a taxi.
The victim sustained a black eye, cuts to his face and a nosebleed.
Police are now appealing for witnesses to come forward in a bid to secure further information about the incident.
The attack happened on Station Road in the Cropredy area at around 2am on August 14.
The two offending men are described as being aged between 20-25-years-old.
One of them was wearing a black t-shirt, black baseball cap and black bag, while the other is described as having short black hair, a beard, and was wearing a white t-shirt.
Thames Valley Police’s investigating officer, PC Darius Horton, who is based at Banbury police station, said: “We are appealing to witnesses to this incident to please come forward.
“If anyone has information, please contact police by calling 101 or by making a report online, quoting reference 43220362458.
“Alternatively, if you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online.”
Recently it was reported that homophobic hate crimes have more than doubled in five years, shooting from 10,003 in 2016-17 to 26,824 in 2021-22.