A gay man has shared the horrendous injuries he was left with after his attacker was spared jail. Ryan Williams, 24, spent months struggling to sleep after he was subjected to a horrific homophobic assault while he was on his way home from work near Manchester's Gay Village.
He was with a friend when a group of thugs accosted Ryan and subjected him to a barrage of insults and homophobic slurs before he brutally assaulted him.
Brandon Forrester had been celebrating his 18th birthday on July 13, 2019 when he approached Ryan and threatened him, saying "gay is wrong" and "you all need to die".
One of Ryan's friends confronted Forrester, who is now 19, but while Ryan tried to act as a peacemaker he was struck in the face and left unconscious.