Thugs leave non-binary person battered and bruised in violent night-time attack
Violent bigots left a non-binary person battered and bruised in a late night town centre attack.
Two thugs in Shrewsbury targeted Will Falshaw, who works at Henry Tudor House in Barracks Passage, punching and kicking them to the ground in Frankwell. They were left with cuts and bruises to their face and ribs.
They believe they were targeted because they were wearing a dress and high heels, and hope someone may have seen something or have evidence to bring their attacker to justice.
Will, 30, was on their way home from a night out at around 3.30am on the morning of Saturday, September 25. They had just picked up a takeaway and were on their way home when they were spotted by the thugs near The Anchor pub.
"I went out and had a couple of drinks. I'd had a nice evening. I had just been for a takeaway when I noticed this lad who had threatened me before.
"He was with another lad. They started giving me grief and then just attacked me. The knocked me to the ground and were kicking me in the face. It went on for about a minute. I didn't see which way they went.
"My face was all black and blue and I had bruised ribs. I went into work the next day but was sent home when they saw the state of me."
They added: "It's related to my gender exploration. I'm gender fluid. For work I dress more masculine, but the rest of the time I'll be sporting high heels and a dress."
Will recognised one of the men, who had behaved aggressively at Havana Republic a couple of months earlier. He was banned from the venue.
"I've spoken to a couple of landlords I know and hopefully they'll be able to sort out putting him on Pubwatch."
Will, who has been exploring their gender for about a year and is happy to be referred to as he, she or they, believes this is a rare incident and Shrewsbury is ordinarily a safe town to go out in at night. They sent a clear message to their attackers, saying: "I'm just trying to get on with my life now, but they need to know you cannot behave like this. You can't go around hitting people."
West Mercia Police have been contacted for a comment.
