A British man who posted a photo to Facebook saying he had been the victim of a homophobic attack was lying, people say. Richard Scott Kennedy's report has since been shared nearly 200,000 times.
The Lancashire Evening Post reports:
He had claimed he suffered verbal abuse after leaving the bar and his only recollection was waking up in the street, covered in blood with a battered face. He was found by friends and taken to hospital.
Detective Inspector Paddy O'Neill said: “We managed to recover some CCTV footage which shows the injured party falling face-first onto the pavement. We have showed him the CCTV and he now accepts his injuries were caused during the fall. Having had oversight of the investigation since its inception and taking into account the full circumstances, I accept his report was made in good faith. The investigation into this matter is indicative of the lengths we will go to when investigating reports of violent crime in the city. We believe assaults, and hate crime assaults in particular, are under-reported in the city for many reasons."
