A man trying to intervene in a “racially-motivated hate crime” in Manchester, England last month ended up on the receiving end of a brutal beating that left him with a broken nose and fractured jaw.
According to 50-year-old Clive Pyott, two men were attacking an Asian boy on Stretford Road in Hulme on the evening of August 24 and he felt he had to do something.
Pyott, who owns a local street food stall, recalled that the men were screaming “speak f***ing English” at the victim, while they were attacking him, reports the Manchester Evening News.
“I heard some noise outside the front of my house, so I went outside,” Pyott was quoted as saying.
“I saw two men running up the street past the bus stop. One of them ran up to an Asian boy and just punched him. He fell on the floor and then they stamped on his face while shouting ‘speak f***ing English’.”
Pyott tried to stop the men who stomped on the man’s head “about five times.”
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“I shouted ‘the guy’s on the floor, leave him be,’” he added. “ I don’t have a great recollection after that, but I think one of the men said to me ‘you want to be next?’”
Pyott was hit and then blacked out. An onlooker captured on video how a man approached Pyott before knocking him to the ground. The clip shows the man and his companions running into a pub.
“When I came around, I went back to my house covered in blood. I phoned the police, who then dispatched an ambulance,” he said. “I left the hospital at seven the next morning, with a broken nose and a fractured jaw.”
The incident has been reported to the local authorities.
“Shortly before 11.35 p.m. on Saturday, August 24, police were called to Stretford Road, Hulme to reports that a man had been assaulted,” said a representative from the Greater Manchester Police. “The report stated that the victim had spotted another man being assaulted and attempted to verbally intervene before the offender attacked him.
“The victim sustained serious injuries to his face as well as cuts to his leg and wrist. Enquiries into the incident are ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact police.”
A month after the attack Pyott is still recovering from his injuries. To have his broken nose fixed, Pyott had to undergo extensive surgery.
“I’ve not been able to eat or sleep very well because of the pain,” he said. “Every time I turn it hurts. I can’t breathe through my nose – and the pain in my jaw is unbearable.”
A ministerial advisor in Oman, Pyott moved to Hulme in 1990 where he also now runs a bed and breakfast.
“The main concern for me is that these guys committed a racial attack that should never have happened,” he added. “It’s a racially motivated attack – a hate crime.”
“I’ve done a lot to engage people and create positive lifestyles in the community. People have been shocked, people who knew me and had heard about the incident were very upset and angry that this had happened.”
Featured Image via Manchester Evening News
