Gay-hate thug beats clubber unconscious

A YOUNG man has told how he was beaten unconscious in what he believes was a homophobic attack.

The 27-year-old, who has asked not to be named, was chased down Lady Lawson Street by an attacker who punched him in the jaw, causing him to strike his head and shoulder on the pavement.

The retail worker was rushed to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary by paramedics, where he continued to lapse in and out of consciousness throughout the night, before being released after he was treated for concussion.

Before the attack at 3.15am on Sunday morning, the man had been out with two female friends at the Egg, Edinburgh College of Art's weekly club night, where they were harassed by a group of four men.

The victim said: "I've lived in Edinburgh for eight years and nothing has ever happened like this before. I do know of two other guys, a couple that were attacked, but it's not something you expect these days.

"I think it's definitely a homophobic attack. They stood out from the rest of the people there, and they were obviously looking for trouble."

The victim said that he remembers little of the events leading up to the attack, but his friend, a 23-year-old retail assistant from Edinburgh, said the group shouted homophobic abuse at them and threatened to stab them.

She said: "I saw this bunch of guys earlier in the night and they had made some comment about (the victim], when he was dancing but hadn't thought anything of it.

"When it got to about 2.30am they were drunk and making openly abusive comments. Once the club closed they were just shouting across the courtyard, but then one of the guys came over and got right up in my friend's face and he was arguing with us.

"They were saying really offensive stuff. Then they were saying to us 'You better watch your back, we're gonna knife you' to all of us.

"Who would say that to two girls and single guy, not looking for any trouble?"

The witness said the group tried to get away but were chased out of the ECA's courtyard into Lady Lawson Street.

She said: "We thought they had just left us but one of the guys came running down the street, at full pelt, and smacked (the victim] in the face. It was a proper smack. He just slumped and hit the ground really hard. He was completely unconscious for more than five minutes, then the ambulance came.

"It was obviously, definitely, because my friend is gay. You don't expect people to do something like that. It's so backwards."

The suspect is described as being white, in his late 20s, of stocky build, and around 5ft 5ins tall.He had shaved brown hair and was wearing a bright blue top with white trim, a black suit-type jacket, blue jeans and white trainers.

A police spokesperson said the attack was unprovoked and the have appealed for any witnesses to come forward and contact Lothian and Borders Police or Crimestoppers.