Boy arrested in connection with homophobic abuse in Chichester

A spokesperson for Sussex Police said the victim, a man in his 20s, reported being followed and verbally abused by a group of young men riding bicycles, and was ‘left shaken by the incident’.

The incident happened in the Little London car park, behind East Street, at about 6pm on October 13.

Sussex Police confirmed the incident is being treated as a homophobic hate crime.

The incident involved a member of the cast of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which stars comedian and satirist Munya Chawawa.

Tuesday evening’s performance was cancelled, with the show’s and theatre’s artistic director, Justin Audibert, making the announcement from the stage while the audience was seated.

In a statement issued on Wednesday (October 14), Chichester Festival Theatre said it was “deeply shocked” that a member of the company had been the victim of an “appallingly abusive attack”.

The theatre said the cast member had been “aggressively hounded and physically pursued through the centre of Chichester.”

It added: “We are profoundly sad and dismayed that such an atrocious thing has happened here in Chichester, and know that the vast majority of our fellow citizens will share our repugnance.

“We will do everything in our power to support the actor affected, and our companies, now and in future.”

A spokesperson for Sussex Police said: “Officers launched an investigation after being made aware of the incident, and visited the victim in a venue nearby to provide reassurance and take a full statement.

“Police can confirm a boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was arrested on suspicion of using threatening or abusive words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.

“He was also arrested on suspicion of shop theft.

“The boy was issued with a Community Protection Warning, and has been bailed, pending further enquiries.”

Inspector Dave Lyons, from Chichester Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “This was a distressing incident for the victim and we understand the concern it has caused for the wider community.

“Hate has no place in our communities. We understand that reporting it can sometime be difficult, but we continue to encourage anyone impacted by hate crimes to report them to Sussex Police.

“We are continuing to work with partner agencies in Chichester to further support victims of crime.”

Anyone with further information about the incident can report it to Sussex Police online, quoting serial 47260238010.