Gay couple savagely attacked outside their home by gang who circled them ‘like hyenas’

A gay couple has been savagely attacked outside their home in a suspected homophobic attack prompted by one of the men’s brightly coloured shoes.

Decorator Andrew Leonard and barrister Julian Smith were set upon by a gang who kicked Andrew to the floor and then circled the pair “like hyenas”.

Julian, 53, told the Evening Standard that his assailants were “vicious,” adding that “we could have had a fatality quite easily.”

Barrister and partner brutally beaten in ‘homophobic attack over their brightly coloured shoes’ https://t.co/iO4fVHHRrH pic.twitter.com/BOPMXnemuG

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The Londoner, who is a Unitarian minister at the Brixton chapel where his partner is chairman of trustees, was hit in the face and also knocked to the ground during the attack.

Andrew, a 49-year-old decorator from Essex, lost four teeth in the attack, and has a suspected broken cheekbone and nose.

The pair said that the group of at least four men had aggressively confronted them about their sexuality in the car park of their Waterloo apartment block.

They were returning home from the Chelsea Arts Club on Saturday night, with Andrew wearing bright orange shoes, when they first realised that something was wrong.

Julian said: “As we approached the block, we could hear these barking noises, really aggressive, so we were reticent as we got in.