A man from the UK has claimed he was assaulted by and 'Irishman' who hurled a racial slur at him.
Ryan Kelly from Douglas, Isle of Man told of how he was allegedly attacked after getting separated from his friends on a night out.
He said: "I went out with friends and left the Outback at 2.30am on my own
"My phone was out of battery and I was trying to find a phone box around the area as I couldn’t be bothered walking home.
Ryan says that he then came across the alleged attacker describing his as a solo white Irishman aged in his 50s.
He told IOM today: "At about 3am I bumped into this man who accused me of flirting with him.
"I just laughed it off, but he started getting more aggressive about it and said 'you’re a faggot'. He then grabbed me and punched me.
"I was very aware of blood going down my face, but I couldn’t call the police.
Following the attack he suffered injuries to his lip and was treated at Noble's Hospital.
"The guy was hammered. I ran up Prospect Hill until I got to a taxi and yelled 'call the police!'.
"The police arrived shortly after."
"I try to put on a brave face. It really scares me that someone is walking out there doing that kind of damage,"
Ryan explained that the matter had been brought to the police's attention but said he dropped the complaint due to "a lack of CCTV in the area" he was unable to make a solid case against whoever was behind the attack.
He added: "Homophobia is still out there. Being gay isn’t a choice for us,"
UK police said: "We take reports like this very seriously and to target anyone because they are gay is clearly not acceptable and any offenders will be dealt with robustly."
