Man arrested after "homophobic" bottle attack in Gay Village

A 29-year-old man surrendered to police on Thursday and has been arrested on suspicion of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

West Midlands Police say the victim was walking in Holloway Circus in the city centre when the attack happened in the early hours of Sunday, October 10.

They say the assault left him with a gashed head.

Police launched an investigation, analysed CCTV and identified a suspect.

They say that since then they have made several arrest attempts at addresses linked to the man and carried out other enquiries in a bid to track him down.

The suspect handed himself in just before 11.30am.

Birmingham Police Superintendent James Littlehales said: “This was a really nasty attack with a weapon and one which we believe was motivated by hate.

“Hate crime and keeping people safe in our nightlife centres are priorities for us.

“Everyone should feel safe and comfortable to be who they are, we will not tolerate anyone being targeted in this way.

“This sort of offence is totally unacceptable and offenders must understand we take it extremely seriously and that they face time in prison.”

Police say they are also investigating other homophobic hate crimes that have been committed in recent weeks and are determined to get justice for victims.

Galop is a national LGBT+ anti-abuse charity supporting people who have suffered homophobia, transphobia and other forms of abuse. For more information visit galop.org.uk

For more support, including information on how to report an incident if you have been the victim of a hate crime visit west-midlands.police.uk/your-options/hate-crime%C2%A0

Alternatively, report it to True Vision at report-it.org.uk/%C2%A0