British Transport Police (BTP) officers investigating a homophobic-related assault in Lancashire have cancelled their appeal for assistance.
Officers have called off an appeal for information issued on the 7th May 2013, after three women were subjected to a homophobic attack on a train between Blackpool North and Preston.
The BTP released an image of a man who they wanted to question with regards to the matter, who has now come forward and will be spoken to officers about the incident.
PC Tony Greenwood said:
“The men became extremely offensive and hurled homophobic abuse at the women before spraying them with a bottle of shaken-up lemonade.
“As the offensive behaviour got more extreme one of the men became violent and knocked a 21-year-old woman to the floor before further assaulting her.
“As a result the woman suffered bruising and swelling to her face, head and arms and has suffered from partial memory loss since the incident.”
PC Greenwood added:
“This was a particularly nasty and vicious assault which all began with unwarranted and totally unacceptable homophobic abuse.
“Everyone has the right to travel in a safe environment free from abuse and violence. Sadly some people seem intent on causing trouble and we will use all tools at our disposal to bring them to justice.”
After the man came forward, PC Greenwood thanked the media and public for their assistance saying,
“I’d like to thank the media and the public for their assistance in this matter. As a direct result of the appeal we now have a number of leads to follow.”
