A man has been charged following an attack on a Liverpool drag star.
The Vivienne was punched and subjected to homophobic abuse while at McDonald’s Edge Lane branch on June 16 by a person who was later arrested.
Alan Whitfield, 50, from Everton will appear at Liverpool Magistrates Court on September 5 on a charge of assault by beating over the incident.
Detective Inspector Alan Nuttall said: “No one, no matter what their background or religious beliefs, should be assaulted, threatened, or subjected to any form of hate crime.
“Please be reassured that we thoroughly investigate reports of those targeted through hate crime and will be relentless to bring offenders to justice.”
To report a hate crime contact @MerPolCC or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
If, for any reason, you do not wish to report a hate crime to the police, the independent charity Stop Hate UK to run a 24/7 confidential helpline for all victims of hate crime on 0800 138 1625 or www.stophateuk.org.
You can also download the Stop Hate UK reporting app on Google Play or the Apple App Store.