Gay couple abused by homophobic gang

Couple’s ‘fresh start’ turns nightmare after being ‘abused’ by ‘homophobic’ gang.

A gay couple is considering fleeing their new town after a gang of teens targeted them in what is being investigated as a hate crime.

Kieran and Steven Douglas-Lane hoped to get a fresh start after moving from Liverpool to Dudley in the West Midlands. Instead, Kieran told PinkNews, “our new start turned out to be a horror”.

The married couple were walking home from a supermarket on Birmingham Road when they say they were “met with a barrage of homophobic abuse” from three teenagers on electric scooters.

The teens followed them all the way home, threatening to “light fireworks” in their letterbox. In video footage seen by PinkNews, the teens, disguising their faces with balaclavas, can be seen lobbing rocks at the couple’s front window.

West Midlands Police confirmed that the incident is being investigated as a hate crime.