Great Yarmouth Pride: Bimini speaks out after boy is attacked

A Drag Race UK star has spoken out after a boy was attacked after leaving a Pride event in their home town.

Great Yarmouth and Waveney Pride (GYWPride) said the 13-year-old boy was hurt by a group for "expressing his sexuality and wearing a Pride flag" after Saturday's parade.

Bimini Bon Boulash, who grew up in Great Yarmouth and started the parade, said it was "heartbreaking".

Norfolk Police said it took such incidents "very seriously".

Bimini, a finalist on the second season of the BBC's RuPaul's Drag Race UK, rode a snail - from Great Yarmouth's Joyland fun park - and carried a specially commissioned torch to start the Great Yarmouth and Waveney Pride parade.

They said they thought it was "amazing" that a Pride event was held in their hometown, where there "wasn't much of a scene" when they were growing up.

Describing the attack, they said it was "disgusting".

In an Instagram post, they said another attack had also recently happened outside a nightclub in the town.

"Homophobia is still happening and and it's heartbreaking to know that these people are being attacked and we can't allow it to happen," said Bimini.

GYWPride said it was "fighting back" against homophobic behaviour in the town.

"Great Yarmouth as a whole has become more accepting and tolerant to people of various sexualities, genders, economic backgrounds, races etc.

"However, we still have a long way to go in our fight for the right to live our lives in freedom and without hate," it said.

Norfolk Police said the boy was assaulted in St George's Park at about 20:20 BST and an investigation was taking place.

It said a second incident, in which homophobic and religiously-aggravated comments were made to a girl, happened earlier in the day and a man, aged in his 20s, was arrested.

Ch Insp Matthew Dyson said: "Norfolk Constabulary takes these incidents very seriously and encourages anyone who witnessed these incidents to get in touch."

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