A medical student was left with a bleed on his head after suffering a violent homophobic attack outside an LGBTQ+ nightclub in London. Harry Batt, 21, was returning home from a night out in Heaven, in Charing Cross, when he was confronted by a woman who hurled insults at him before punching him “multiple times” in the head.
The student was taken to hospital, where doctors used glue to seal the injury, before reporting the incident to the police. He told MyLondon the incident had left him “shaken” but was otherwise okay and has vowed not to let the incident prevent him going out in future.
READ MORE: ‘London bus driver trapped me on the bus to shout homophobic abuse after I kissed a man’
Matt said the woman punched him ‘multiple times’ in the head, leaving him with a bleed that had to be glued in hospital
(Image: Instagram)
Matt, who is originally from Portsmouth, told MyLondon he had been on a “great” night out with his best mate before the attack. The pair left the club at around 3.30am in the early hours of Saturday morning (February 12) and were waiting at a bus stop just past Charing Cross towards Trafalgar Square when the woman approached them.
“She was calling me a b***y boy and said it was because I like to take it up the bum,” he said. “Which is funny because that’s not actually true but there we are. I feel a bit shaken up, but it won’t stop me from being myself, going out and having a good time. Not going to let the minority win, I’m going out again with my friend to heaven tonight. Some might say it’s silly but I’m not going to let her stop me from enjoying myself.”
Matt later wrote about the ordeal on social media, warning his LGBTQ+ followers not to be “complacent” and that “there are still so many people out there who site to inflict hate upon us simply for being who we are.”
Medical student Harry Batt was left with a horrific gash on the side of his head after a homophobic attack outside Heaven nightclub
(Image: Harry Batt)
He added: “I don’t wish to scare anyone, but unfortunately last night I fell victim to a homophobic attack whilst waiting for a bus home outside Heaven nightclub in London. A girl came up to me and started throwing homophobic verbal assaults at me unprovoked, which I said to her she couldn’t say to me or I would get the police involved.
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“She proceeded to punch me multiple times in the head, leaving me with a bleed, before rapidly fleeing the scene. The incident is being dealt with by the police. I am not posting this for people to feel sorry for me, I am posting this for awareness. I want everyone to be aware that the LGBTQ+ community still do not have equality in 2022.
“I simply say to you all, please please please stand up for our community, and stand up for love. We shouldn’t be treated any differently than anyone else. I have suffered abuse my whole life for simply being the person I am, and I will not stop raising awareness and acceptance for our community as long as I shall live.”
The Metropolitan Police has been approached for comment.
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I’m Tom, a News Reporter at MyLondon with a special interest in covering LGBTQ+ issues and anything whacky or bizarre going down in your local Facebook group. I started in January 2021, and I’m based in Bermondsey. You can follow my Facebook page here.
Three stories I’ve worked on in the past month that I’m particularly proud of are:
Coming from Birmingham, my favourite thing about London is the huge variety of remarkable people you meet every day and, obviously, the Bermondsey Beer Mile.
Got a story? You can email me at [email protected] or DM me on Twitter @t_haynesy.
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