A teenager in North Yorkshire is recovering after being brutally attacked in an apparent homophobic and racist beating.
A 19-year-old man is recovering after being beaten in an apparent racist and homophobic attack in Yorkshire on the 28th January. The man was attacked by two men who approached him after he alighted the 1C bus on Knaresborough Road, Harrogate.
As he walked passed the men, the victim was grabbed by one who held his arms behind his back whilst being punched and kicked in the head.
Police in North Yorkshire report that racial and homophobic slurs were hurled at the victim during the assault and police are treating the attack as a hate crime.
According to a statement from North Yorkshire police,
“One of the suspects is described as white and in his mid to late 40s. He had very short, shaved hair, was a chunky or fat build and had neatly-shaven sideburns. He is described as having excess skin on his neck, like a “turkey neck”.
He was dressed in workwear including a navy blue outdoor coat, dirty blue jeans and tan or sand-coloured Timberland-style workers’ boots, with construction-type dirt on them.
He is said to have spoken with a local accent and wore a plain gold wedding band on his wedding ring finger.
The second suspect is described as a chunky or fat white man who is also in his mid to late 40s. He had short, thinning hair and a bit of stubble. He wore a black leather bomber jacket, jeans, brown workers’ boots and had a blue tattoo on one of his wrists.
A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “We’d urge anyone who witnessed this incident, or has any information, to contact police immediately on 101. Please ask for Rebecca Wood and quote incident number NYP-28012016-0193.”
You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
