In the early hours of Saturday 28th July a man was seriously assaulted along the banks of the River Ouse on the north side of York. He was attacked by three young men, and left with serious head injuries and breaks to his legs. The man has not identified himself as a gay, or intending to have sex with other men; however homophobic language was featured in the attack and the police believe it was motivated by the attackers’ perception of the man’s sexuality, and are treating the case as a hate crime incident.

Detective Sergeant Clive Rich, of York CID, has said in local press: ‘This was a vicious and unprovoked attack on an innocent person.’

Suspects have been arrested in relation to the investigation and enquiries are still ongoing. There is still a need for witnesses and information and North Yorkshire Police are appealing for anyone who may be able to assist in securing the conviction of those responsible to contact them. Rich said: ‘They might not have realised at the time how badly beaten this man was. We would urge anyone with any information to come forward. I would like to assure people that any information given to us will be treated in the strictest confidence.’

Yorkshire MESMAC, who do outreach work throughout North Yorkshire, are urging guys who might be out on their own to be extra vigilant and consider their safety at all times.