A man was left covered in blood during a suspected homophobic attack in the street.

Lee Brobson, 30, a hotel worker from Chelmsford was repeatedly punched and left injured after enjoyed a night out with friends in in the city centre.

He and his friends were beaten in Moulsham Street after the violent yobs hurled abuse at them.

Lee said: “The men were staring at us and called us unnatural as my mates were holding hands.

“They just pounced on us and hit us in the face, I took the worse of it and was left with fist imprints in my face.

“I was on the flood and covered in blood, it was all over the street and my clothes, it was such a mess.

“My friend went get to help and I was still on the floor and then the police were called.

“It was all very quick and just a matter of minutes. I am feeling sore and had to have time off of work.

“I will be carrying on and still going out to socialise, it was horrible, but we have to carry on as normal. I am feeling a mixture of emotions, disgust, anger and disappointment.

“Sadly I am not surprised, and feel there’s always going to be hate towards people. There has been some backlash online with people saying I wasn’t badly hurt.

“These men badly hurt my arm and face and I’ve been wearing make up to cover up the marks on my face. I want to make people aware that this still happens and think that’s very important.

“We were innocently walking down the street and doing nothing. There has also been lots of support from the Chelmsford community and Facebook has gone crazy.”

He said he’s feeling sore and is now taking it easy and cannot work due to the pain of carrying trays and tables.

A spokesman for Essex Police said: "We received a report of an assault in Chelmsford during the early hours of Sunday 26 January.

"It was reported that two men were being verbally abusive towards two other men on Moulsham Street.

"The men were then said to assault a man in his 20s and a man in his 30s, before running off.

"Officers arrived and a man in his 30s was taken to hospital and treated for injuries no believed to be serious.

"Enquiries are ongoing and our priority at this stage is to speak with the victims to establish the full circumstances of what happened, so that the assault can be investigatied appropriately.

"Anyone who witnessed the incident are asked to contact Chelmsford local police station on 101, quoting reference 42/13695/20."