Drag queen cage fighters tell how they fought-off "thugs"

Published on Thursday 8 October 2009 14:26

TWO cage fighters who went on a night out in fancy dress as drag queens told today how they sorted out a pair of drunken thugs who came looking for a brawl.

Daniel "Lion Heart" Lerwell, 23, and James "Lights Out" Lilley, 22, looked easy prey dressed in high-heels, hot pants and boob tubes.

But thugs Dean Gardener, 19, and Jason Fender, 22, of Swansea, south Wales, got the shock of their lives when their victims fought back.

A bare-chested Gardener was caught on CCTV confronting one of the cross-dressing party-goers during the August Bank Holiday night out.

Moments before they had taken part in a brawl further up the street in which they had attacked a reveller dressed as spiderman.

A brief exchange in which Gardener swings a punch at an apparent drag queen sporting a pink wig has now become an international internet sensation.

The apparently defenceless victim is quickly seen making short work of the thugs, flooring them both with a quick salvo of punches.

He then leans over the stunned duo as they sprawl on the floor, coolly picking up his hand-bag before continuing on unfazed.

The whole celebrated tale was publicly aired at Swansea Magistrates Court this week after the footage was used to bring the thugs to book.

Both admitted using threatening words and behaviour and were tagged and are under a night house curfew for the next four months.

Meanwhile Lerwell and Lilley, who both train at Swansea's Team Predator gym, are basking in celebrity status.

The cage fighting pals are sought after for TV, radio and newspaper interviews, both in the UK and abroad.

They were part of a 10-strong group of cage fighting colleagues who were out on the town together at the time.

"I think there were about 10 of us in all, and we were all in drag," Lerwell, of Mount Pleasant, Swansea, told the South Wales Evening Post.

"I saw these boys go up to James and start calling him names, and then he was hit."

He said he immediately went into action, defending his friend out of instinct.

"I was shocked at first, and thought who are these pansies? But I wasn't really thinking, it was just instinct really."

He added that since the publicity surrounding the brief scuffle: "My phone hasn't stopped ringing."

Lilley, also of Mount Pleasant, added: "It's just a shame that people like that spoil things for everyone.

"A few of the boys were going out for a night and just thought we would do something different which was why were in drag.

"We were due to knuckle down to training because we had a fight coming up in six weeks, and it was the last chance for a blow-out."

He added that it was lucky the duo had picked on a person who was capable of defending himself otherwise somebody could have been seriously hurt.