A man has told of his shock after having 'pop poured over his head' in what he believes it to be a homophobic incident. Calvin Kirlew, who identifies himself as "proudly gay", has spoken out after being the victim of an assault in Nottingham city centre.
The 30-year-old, who works in a call centre, was travelling from Bulwell into the city centre when he met one of his friends on the tram on the evening of April 9. "I was minding my own business, in my own world, and I got a message from someone saying 'look up' and he was sitting just opposite me.
"There were three girls who were just laughing, and I thought at first they were laughing because the situation was a bit weird. I told my friend 'why would you message me instead of tapping me on the knee' and then brushed it off and got off the tram.
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"They got off way before us, and my friend was saying the girls were taking the mick out of us. I just thought we did not do anything crazy.
"We were walking at the bus stop on Queen Street and they were there, blatantly laughing and trying to intimidate me. I just threw a comment 'grow up' and said it was ridiculous."
Mr Kirlew said that is when "she started to get physical with me like poking her finger in my head". His shock did not stop there, as the man noticed that no one reacted to what was happening.
"Nobody at the bus stop did anything about it - and it kind of ticks me off a little bit. This went on for about 15 minutes.
"Then she threw a bottle of pop [fizzy drink] over me. It was purple and it stained my clothes. That is when I called the police."
He said he reached out to the potential witnesses at the bus stop to give a statement to the police - but Mr Kirlew claims they all refused, saying they "do not want to get involved".
The man said he has then received 'overwhelming' support from people on social media after sharing his story. "It probably hit a nerve somewhere."
He added: "I can guarantee that I would have hit her back someone would have done something. And also the homophobia - I know this kind of thing happens all around the world all the time."
Now, Mr Kirlew said he only wants an apology. "Then I am willing to drop everything but she needs to kind of learn a lesson that you cannot treat people like that.
"When she started to put her hands on me - that is assault. I guarantee if I would have hurt her it would have been a totally different story. It was just a weird situation.
"She was conscious, laughing and joking about the situation. She was hurling homophobic abuse towards me.
"As soon as I said that I am going to call the police she just went off. She was not scared - she was unashamadly brash about it."
Mr Kirley came out as gay when he was 14 because he did not want to "live in fear". "I am a gay man and I am very proud. Deep down I think this is a homophobic incident, and nobody stood up and protected me.
"It is not right and it happens all the time. If my story can help someone or make people aware that homophobia still exists, that victimisation still exists, then I have done my job."
A spokesperson for Nottinghamshire Police said: “Police were called to a report of an assault on April 9 just before 8pm at the Upper Parliament Street tram stop in the city centre.
"The victim, aged 30, reported that a woman had hit and then poured a fizzy drink on them. We are carrying out a number of lines of inquiry including CCTV. Anyone with information can contact 101 quoting incident number 0583 of the 9th April, 2023.”
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