The attack took place outside a local Tesco where a group of men started calling the 24-year-old homophobic slurs before becoming physically violent.
The Liverpool Hope University graduate told the Liverpool Echo that he and his friends were socialising before a man took issues with Benson using the term “love” to refer to him.
The situation escalated after the attacker punched Benson and the Belfast native tried to defend himself and two more men joined in violently beating him.
Benson told the Liverpool Echo that he feared for his life: “If this is what being gay means, then I don’t want to be gay. Literally, if this is what my sexuality results in, then I’ll not be gay then, if you just leave me alone,” he said. “Because I’m only 24, so