Arrest after alleged hate crime before Pride

Police confirmed they were treating the assault of three men the evening before Birmingham Pride as "hate crime"

Police in Birmingham say assaults on three men before the city's Pride celebrations are being treated as hate crime.

A man, 23, was arrested on Friday following reports of assaults on "several people" in a pub in Hurst Street, near the Arcadian, police said.

The individual left the scene but was arrested in the city about 19:00 BST on suspicion of wounding and assault, officers added.

Ch Insp Richard Evans said: "We will not tolerate hate crime in our city."

West Midlands Police said three men, aged 30, 31 and 34, were believed to have been assaulted, suffering injuries not thought to be serious.

Mr Evans said people should be able to visit Birmingham "without fear of being subjected to violence and threats".

The Birmingham Pride policing operation was planned months in advance, he added, to provide "a highly visible presence" involving firearms teams, traffic officers, drones, and sniffer dogs.

"We take hate crime very seriously and would encourage people to come forward if they've experienced a hate crime," Mr Evans said.

He encouraged victims to report incidents to police or visit third party reporting centre The Loft.