A gang of men allegedly attacked a Ryanair flight attendant and her girlfriend on a London bus, leaving them covered in blood.
The disturbing image shows Melania Geymonat, 28, from Uruguay, and her American girlfriend Chris after an evening out in West Hampstead in the early hours last month.
They were taking the bus home after a night out, according to the Mirror .
The pair decided to sit at the front on the top deck because they both enjoy the novelty of a double decker bus, said Melania, who lives in Bishop's Stortford in Essex.
A gang of young men behind them allegedly saw they were a couple and started to demand they kiss while making crude sexual gestures, it is claimed.
She said: “They wanted us to kiss so they could watch us.
"I tried to defuse the situation as I’m not a confrontational person, telling them to please leave us alone as Chris wasn’t feeling well.”
The men, who were in their 20s or 30s, allegedly began throwing things and the couple told them to stop.
“The next thing I remember was Chris in the middle of them and they were beating her,” Melania added.
“I didn’t think about it and went in. I was pulling her back and trying to defend her so they started beating me up.
“I don’t even know if I was knocked unconscious.
“I felt blood, I was bleeding all over my clothes and all over the floor.
“We went downstairs and the police were there.”
Melania is waiting to find out if her nose was broken in the attack.
She said there were at least four of them and one spoke Spanish while the others had British accents.
The attackers also allegedly robbed the couple before fleeing the bus.
She told Uruguayan news site Montevideo Portal that it was the first time in her life that she had been the victim of such severe homophobic violence.
Melania, who moved to the UK in February and is on a year's sabbatical from her medical studies, says she felt safe as a gay woman in London and was stunned by the attack.
She released the picture to raise awareness of violence against women and gay people.
She added: “It’s not something isolated, it’s common. We were seen as entertainment, that’s what makes me so angry.”
The Met Police have been contacted for a comment.
