Gay army veteran steps in to try and stop homophobic attack on a London bus
Police issue CCTV images of suspect wearing smart suit
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An army veteran on his way home from working at a gay bar in London stepped in to try and stop a violent homophobic attack on a bus that left one man unconscious.
Lee Wardle, 40, who served in Afghanistan and Northern Ireland, was caught up in the attack after he heard a man shouting homophobic abuse into a telephone and asked him to stop.
Mr Wardle, who works as a bartender at Halfway 2 Heaven in Trafalgar Square, said he heard the man “having a really loud, obnoxious conversation using a lot of homophobic language”, on the N87 as he travelled home towards Vauxhall.
When he asked him to stop, the man tried to hit him, and then attacked another gay man, who was “repeatedly punched and knocked unconscious”, Mr Wardle told the Evening Standard.
The Metropolitan Police have issued an appeal to find the suspect and released CCTV images of a black man with a shaved head and a goatee beard who was wearing a dark blue suit, black shoes and a grey scarf.
Mr Wardle, who was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 and won a medal for service in Northern Ireland in 1997 and 1999, said he wants the suspect caught “before he seriously hurts somebody”.
Footage taken by another passenger shows the scuffle on the bus with the suspect apparently shouting: “Don’t compare me to a gay man ever”, and appearing to hit someone violently in the head before being wrestled further down the bus by Mr Wardle.
“The man was talking about having been to a gay club or bar, but he seemed to have gone there with the view to pick up women”, Mr Wardle said.
“I think he said 'Faggots should be killed.' It was very distressing language."
He said: "He didn't hit me, but he went for me and I warned him that it wasn't a good idea. I'm quite a tall guy.
“[The other man] was a smaller and easier target. He was punched repeatedly and eventually knocked out.”
He added: “This guy needs educating. He can't think that he has got away with it. I refuse to let him think that he has got away with it."
Mr Wardle said he stepped in because “nine times out of 10, people don't stand up to this”.
He added: “I have heard it all before, but I was concerned that there were other people on the bus.
“Usually in London no-one bats an eyelid. They would rather keep out of it, which is really sad.”
In a statement the Met said: “The assault happened at around 4.15am on Sunday, 25 March on board a N87 bus on Wandsworth Road, SW8.
“Members of the public were seated on the top deck of the bus when they overheard the suspect sitting in front of them swearing and making homophobic remarks.
“When asked to refrain from making such remarks, the suspect then proceeded to assault three passengers on the bus.
“The suspect is described as a black man with a shaved head and goatee beard wearing a smart blue suit, black shoes and grey scarf.”
Detective Constable Sarah Bunting of the Met's Road and Transport Policing Command said: “This man is sought in connection with a homophobic assault on a bus.
“If you know who this man is, or may be able to assist us in our investigation, please call 101 and quote CAD 1045/25Mar18.
“The Met will not tolerate any form of hate crime and we strongly urge anyone who has been a victim of this sort of situation to call police and report it.”