Man ‘horribly disfigured’ after being stabbed in the face by homophobic thugs

Police are hunting for two thugs who disfigured a man for life in a stabbing attack in which they used homophobic slurs.

23-year-old Lee Michael of Manchester was injured in the attack in the early hours of Monday morning, while walking home from a friend’s house.

Mr Michael was trailed by two men who asked for a cigarette, before branding him a “fag”.

When he refused them a cigarette, one of the men slashed him in the face with a sharp object, believed to be a piece of glass or a knife.

The pair fled the scene as passers-by called the emergency services, with Mr Michael hospitalised with injuries to his cheek and neck.

Police are seeking two black men in their late twenties in connection with the attack, though did not say if they are treating the incident as a hate crime.

Mr Michael told the Manchester Evening News: “I was panicking. I didn’t know what was going on.

“They slashed right through my cheek and neck. I was completely covered in blood.

“I was taken to hospital where I had to have three layers of stitching. They had slashed through the skin, tissue and fat.

“There were deep cuts across my face and now my face has swollen and I look like the elephant man.”

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: “Police were called at about 2am on Monday to Portland Street in the city centre.

“The victim sustained lacerations to his face after an altercation with two men.”

Anyone with information about the incident can contact Greater Manchester Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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