Detectives are appealing for witnesses to the hate crime assault of a man in Waterloo last month

Detectives in Sefton are appealing for witnesses to the hate crime assault of a man in Waterloo last month.

At around 12.30am on Thursday 30 January, the victim, a man in his 40s, was buying alcohol from the Shell Garage on Crosby Road North. As the victim walked back to a waiting taxi, a man punched him from behind and stamped on his hand, resulting in serious injuries. The victim was also subject to homophobic abuse.

Members of the public came to the assistance of the victim. The suspect is believed to have left in a private hire taxi along with a female.

The victim was taken home in a taxi and subsequently attended at hospital for treatment to an injured hand.

CCTV enquiries have proved negative and we are appealing for anyone who has dashcam, witnessed the assault or has any other information.

Detective Constable Jaclyn Rainford said: “This was a disgraceful, unprovoked attack on a man who had been out for a meal and was on the way home when he stopped at the petrol station. The verbal abuse of the victim also means we’re treating this as a hate crime.”

“Were you in the petrol station or nearby when this happened? We want to speak to all of those members of the public who kindly came to the victim’s assistance but would also ask that anyone with dashcam can check and see if they captured the suspect getting into a taxi afterwards.

“Our enquiries to trace the taxi are ongoing but your information might be vital, so come forward and we will take positive action.”

“There is no place in our society for hate crime and Merseyside Police is committed to maintaining the right of all our communities to be treated with fairness, dignity and respect.”

“It is vital that we give our support to anyone who believes they have been subjected to abuse or left in fear because of who they are and I want to reassure the public that the force is committed to taking action against those responsible for hate crime and building trust with all of our communities.”

Anyone with dashcam or other footage is asked to send it via the following link: https://crowd.in/2YocDq

You can also pass other information via @MerPolCC, 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.