Appeal for information following hate crime assault in St Helens

We are appealing for information following a hate crime assault in St Helens last month.

At around 2am on Sunday, 19 December, we received a report that two men and a woman were assaulted on North Road, while waiting for a taxi outside Hamma gym.

It was reported that a male and a female suspect directed homophobic slurs towards the two men, who were holding hands.

When challenged by the female victim, it was reported the suspects kicked and punched the female and one of the male victims.

The victims suffered minor injuries and all were left extremely shaken by the incident.

The male suspect is described as white, aged around 29 years old, around 5ft, 9in tall and of average build with short fair hair. At the time of the incident he was wearing a navy blue t-shirt, dark trousers and trainers.

The female suspect is described as white, in her late 20s, around 5ft 3in, tall, of slim build with long blonde, highlighted hair. At the time of the incident she was wearing a long grey coat.

Both suspects spoke with St Helens accents.

CCTV and witness enquiries are being carried out to locate the suspects and anyone with any information is asked to contact police.

Detective Inspector Yoseph Al-Ramadhan said: “It is utterly abhorrent that these people were subject to verbal and physical abuse simply because of their sexual orientation and we simply will not tolerate people being targeted in this way.

“Hate will not be accepted in any form by Merseyside Police and we are working to find those responsible for this incident and bring them to justice.

“If you were on North Road in the early hours of Sunday 19 December and witnessed the incident, saw the suspects described, or have any information, please get in touch. Similarly, if you were driving in the area and have dashcam footage, please review it and let us know if you see anything.

“Any information you hold could be vital to our enquiries so please come forward with any information and we’ll do the rest.

“I would also take this opportunity to urge any victim of hate crime on Merseyside to please come forward and let us know. We have a dedicated team of hate crime co-ordinators who will make sure you will be supported at every step as sensitively as possible.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Merseyside Police social media desk via Twitter @MerPolCC or Facebook Merseyside Police Contact Centre with reference 21000724582. You can also call 101 or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or via their online form at: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/give-information.

If, for any reason, you do not wish to report a hate crime to the police, the independent charity Stop Hate UK to run a 24/7 confidential helpline for all victims of hate crime on 0800 138 1625 or www.stophateuk.org. You can also download the Stop Hate UK reporting app on Google Play or the Apple App Store.
Across Merseyside, we also have a number of third party reporting centres including fire stations, citizens advice bureaus and hospitals. A list of locations can be viewed here: merseyside-third-party-hate-crime-reporting-centres.pdf

Dedicated support for victims of hate crime is also available through the Victim Care Merseyside service delivered by Citizens Advice. They can be contacted at [email protected] or by calling 0151 522 1400 ext. 5006.