Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Alex Grove & Bradley Jolly

Woman called 'gay c***' and 'he' as vile couple threaten to 'smash her face in'

A "p****d up couple" threatened to smash a crate of ciders into the face of a lesbian woman whom they branded a " gay c***" in a vile rant.

Tracy Neesom, 42, has branded the latest homophobic attack "childish, pathetic and ignorant".

She and her girlfriend became embroiled in a dispute with the drunk couple outside a shop in Bridlington, East Yorkshire, on Sunday night.

"They kept having a go at me and the guy threatened to slam a crate of ciders in my face. He kept calling me a he and when I said, ‘I’m not a he’ he turned around and called me a gay c***," Tracy told Hull Live .

"Then he started having a go at my partner who had come into the shop with the dog and my dog did try to bite him because he was being aggressive."

Tracy said the abuse is the latest in a string of homophobic attacks she has endured since coming out as gay 20 years ago.

Although she has logged the offence as a hate crime with Humberside Police , Tracy says it has had a huge effect on her girlfriend who she has only been seeing for the past six months.

"I’m a repeat victim," mum-of-one Tracy continued.

"I’ve had my car covered in paint stripper and I’ve been beaten up. Someone threatened to break my daughter’s legs and a few years ago a woman who started on me called me a dyke.

"It’s disgusting in this day and age that this abuse still happens. Gay people are now allowed to get married but people still call us all sorts of names under the sun and it’s just childish, pathetic and ignorant.

"It’s all too common and I’m not afraid to speak out but I find that a lot of people are."

Tracy had a message for people who still think they can commit hate crimes without punishment.

She said: "People think it’s just a word when they are being homophobic but it’s more than that.

"It’s part of our identity and it’s not acceptable to call people names and things because of their race and religion, so why do people think it’s acceptable to target someone because of their sexuality?

"People think being gay or lesbian is a lifestyle choice but it’s not. Nobody would choose a lifestyle where they are subjected to hate and it just makes you wonder what this world is coming to when people can’t even go to the shop without being subjected to homophobia."

Humberside Police now wants anybody who saw the encounter unfold between Tracy and the couple to get in touch immediately.

A spokeswoman for the force said: "We are investigating a report that woman is alleged to have been the victim of a homophobic hate incident.

"The woman has reported to us that she was outside a store on Promenade in Bridlington at around 8.45pm on Sunday, July 28, when two people, a man and a woman, shouted offensive and homophobic language and threatened the woman with violence.

"We take all reports of homophobic hate incidents seriously and will not tolerate this type of behaviour in our area. We are speaking with the victim and are doing all we can to find the suspects.

"We are viewing CCTV images of the incident and have a number of witnesses that are providing their account to us but if there is anyone else that can help with our enquiries they can call us on 101 quoting reference 16/86510/19."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.