Two children were attacked and had homophobic and transphobic abuse hurled at them after trying to help a 'drunk' girl in a park.
The victims, aged 11 and 14, were walking in Central Park, Liscard on Thursday, August 12 when they noticed a female youth was heavily intoxicated.
They called an ambulance for girl but then claim the group with the girl became verbally abusive towards them and attacked them.
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The victims said they were subject to homophobic and transphobic abuse by the intoxicated girl's friends.
One of the victims told the ECHO : "I was told by the ambulance operator to follow her because she ran off.
"About half an hour later, I was still following her and they were still shouting the same language at us."
The victims found themselves surrounded by a group of youths on bikes who reportedly spat at them, hitting one of the victims in their head, knees and ankles and the other victim in their head and legs.
Both victims attended hospital for their injuries and were left extremely shaken by the incident.
One of the victims explained for young LGBT+ people, the verbal abuse they received is commonplace in day-to-day life.
The victim added: "It's a constant thing whenever I go out with friends.
"We're called slurs but we don't tend to report it, because it's such a common thing.
"I want people to know this isn't just a story, this is regular. We deal with it on a daily basis."
Merseyside Police is appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the attack, or who has any information, to come forward.
Detective Inspector Barbara Hebden said: “This was an appalling incident leaving two children injured and we are working to find those responsible and bring them to justice.
“Our parks and green spaces across Merseyside should be able to be enjoyed by everyone without fear of violence from a small minority of people behaving in a completely unacceptable manner. That’s why, through our Parksafe Programme, we ensure that police presence is stepped up in our parks across Merseyside during the summer months.
“Following our enquiries so far we have also had an unconfirmed information that homophobic and transphobic slurs were directed at the victims during the incident yesterday.
“We at Merseyside Police simply will not tolerate people being targeted in this manner and so, if you were in Central Park on Thursday evening and saw, heard or captured anything please let us know and we will take action.
“Everyone in Merseyside has the right to go about their daily business without the fear of being subjected to verbal or physical abuse based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, and we remain committed to ensuring they can.
“I would take this opportunity to urge any victim of hate crime on Merseyside to please come forward and let us know. We have a dedicated team of hate crime co-ordinators who will make sure you will be supported at every step as sensitively as possible.
“Furthermore, across Merseyside, there are a number of third-party reporting centres available to anyone who doesn't want to call the police in the first instance including the charity Stop Hate UK who can be contacted on 0800 138 1625.”
Anyone with information on the Central Park incident, or on hate crime on Merseyside, is asked to contact Merseyside Police via their social media desk on Twitter @MerPolCC or Facebook ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’ with reference 21000562490.
You can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or via their online form.
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