Bus firm investigates Black Country gay slur claim
An investigation has been launched after a man claimed someone shouted a homophobic slur at him as he walked along a road in the Black Country.
Luke Williams was recording himself speaking for a piece on his online blog when somebody was heard to shout 'queer' at him in a street in Oldbury.
He said it appeared to come from the direction of a Diamond bus that was passing him at the time, however, it is unclear from the footage who shouted the abuse.
Bosses at the bus company, which is based in Oldbury, are now looking into the claim.
Mr Williams, who was in Dudley Road at the time, was shocked at hearing the slur and immediately looked round to see who had said it.
Speaking on his YouTube page, Mr Williams, from Oldbury, said he was stunned at what happened.
He said: "As I was blogging, walking home from the train station down the main road, a bus drove past me, a Diamond bus.
"The bus looked to be empty and the driver's door was open so, obviously, it wasn't in service or something."
He said he clearly heard a voice shout 'queer' as the bus went past and believed it came from someone on the bus.
"I was actually stunned that someone in this day and age had just shouted the word queer at somebody else," he added.
Diamond Buses spokeswoman Sue Willdigg said: "We were sorry to hear of the incident outlined and the comment that was alleged to have been made is certainly not the kind of behaviour we consider acceptable from our employees.
"Unfortunately, from the footage on Mr Williams' film, we were unable to identify the vehicle concerned.
"We have subsequently been in contact with Mr Williams in order to assist us with investigating this fully.
"The matter is still being investigated and we will continue to be in touch with Mr Williams to update him on his complaint."
