Cardiff student assaulted in homophobic attack

A student in Cardiff says he is afraid of being out late at night after being the victim of a homophobic attack.

Yang Wu, 27, was walking with a friend at about 01:00 BST on Thursday when they stopped at an Esso garage on Cathedral Road.

A taxi stopped and passengers got out and started shouting homophobic abuse before coming towards the pair.

Mr Wu said he tried to defuse the situation, but was punched to the ground and had a tooth knocked out.

The man started to throw things at the pair while shouting homophobic abuse, he added.

Mr Wu said his friend was too drunk to run away, so he faced up to his assailant to try and get him to back down, but was punched in the face and fell to the floor.

Yang Wu had a tooth knocked out and suffered broken bones in the attack

"I got punched on my face so I fell to the ground... and a lot of blood has come from my nose. My tooth is broken... so I knocked out my tooth, it's possible I lost it forever," Mr Wu said.

"They got away in the same taxi they came from. The police are investigating now they're trying to identify the people from the camera."

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Mr Wu said he was left in a pool of blood on the floor, adding: "I was scared they were coming back to me. I was very nervous at the time."

He was treated in hospital and now has difficulty speaking.

He said the attack has left him thinking about changing his appearance and not going out late at night

"I probably would not go out after 11 or not too late, or maybe I'll come back with my friends or stay over at their place and not allow them to go out on their own," he said.

"If I go out again I'm not guaranteed that it won't happen again."

The attack was caught on CCTV at the garage and police are investigating it as a hate crime.

South Wales Police said officers were looking for a 5ft 9in (1.75m) mixed race man with a shaved head who has a medium build and was wearing dark clothes.