These shocking images show the injuries suffered by a gay man beaten up by a CAGE FIGHTER in a homophobic attack.
David Ryan, 56, was walking home from a pub on New Year’s Eve when he was attacked by boxer Keith Moult, 35.
Sadistic Moult started hurling homophobic insults at Mr Ryan before punching and kicking him until he fell to the floor.
He then continued the brutal assault as Mr Ryan lay helplessly on the ground until he lost consciousness.
Mr Ryan was left in the street to die in freezing temperatures but was saved by an RNAS pilot who called emergency services.
Moult was sentenced to 18 months in prison for assault following a three-day trial at Taunton Crown Court.
Shaken Mr Ryan has decided to speak out about the attack which happened near to the Bird in the Hand pub to inspire others to dome forward.
He was left so traumatised he felt had no option but to move away from Somerset entirely.
“I’d moved to Henstridge from London. I wanted to retire here eventually,” he said.
“I had a job in Yeovil hospital, I’d made some friends and I wanted to spend the rest of my life here.
“But after he was jailed, people told me I’d need to watch my back. It made me very anxious.
“I was so afraid that I was going home after work, running to my front door and bolting myself in my own home. It was like being a prisoner. It destroyed me.
“I gave up my job, my home and I went back to London.”
Mr Ryan said he had initially been reluctant to report the attack to police, fearing they would not take him seriously and had to be talked into it by friends.
“Nobody should be attacked like that – gay, straight, lesbian – if you are attacked or abused, it needs to be reported,” he said
“I thought – I’m a gay man. No-one is going to care about this. But I was wrong. Everyone took it very seriously.
“And I hope by speaking out like this, people in the LGBT community who might have been afraid to come forward will know that it is safe for them to do so. That they’ll be taken seriously.
“And people like him will know that they can’t get away with doing things like this to people.”
Mr Ryan is asking people to make a small donation to the Terrence Higgins Trust, The Samaritans or St John Ambulance.