Man beaten in Bournemouth homophobic attack in pub toilet

Paul Scates had been drinking with friends at Bournemouth's Moon in the Square pub

A gay man has described being kicked and beaten by three men in a homophobic attack in a pub toilet.

Paul Scates, 44, was with friends in the Moon in the Square pub, in Bournemouth, on 6 January when he said he was followed into the men's toilets.

He said one man hurled homophobic and threatening insults and violently pushed him into a wall, before two other men kicked and hit him.

Dorset Police said it was investigating and gathering CCTV footage.

Mr Scates said he was in the men's toilets when the first attacker told him he "wasn't normal" and asked what he was doing in the bar.

He said the man pushed him from behind into a wall before two other men came in and started kicking and hitting him, leaving him with injuries to his face, back, head, neck and arms.

Mr Scates said his attackers had been sat on a nearby table before following him to the bathroom.

'Scary'

"Out of the corner of my eye there were mirrors and I thought 'just keep an eye Paul, don't turn back'," he said.

He said he tried to exit the bathroom when he felt a blow on the back of his neck, and the next minute his head hit the tiled walls, "and that's just where it kept going".

His friends managed to come in and stop the assault, he said, adding: "They said I could have died and that's the scary bit.

"I don't understand that hatred that makes you want to kill somebody just because they don't happen to fit whatever these people want you to fit, and that's scary."

JD Wetherspoon, which owns the Moon in the Square, said it was aware of the incident.

It said in a statement: "Wetherspoon does not tolerate violence in its pubs and we will support the police in their investigation."

Mr Scates was treated for his injuries in hospital the following day and they were not believed to be serious, police said.

The force added that inquiries were under way, including gathering relevant CCTV footage and supporting the victim throughout the investigation.