14/01/2018 London News

in March.

I'll be back with

the late news at 10.

Bye for now.

Good evening and welcome

to BBC London News,

with me, Louisa Preston.

A gay man who was left

with permanent damage

after being punched in an attack

outside a club in east London has

spoken about the homophobic assault.

Last year there were more

than 2000 reported incidents.

Thomas Magill has the details.

The moment Gordon Maxwell's night

out turned nasty, attacked, he

believes, just for being gay.

I'm really certain

it was a hate crime,

because he just saw me...

I was just standing

there in a dress with

make up on, dressed up

for Christmas at a gay

club, hundreds of guys

who

look like me inside.

I was just unlucky, really.

Gordon needed reconstructive

surgery and may have

permanent nerve damage after

the single punch outside the Troxy

nightclub on the 3rd of December.

It's an ordeal that he says

has changed his life.

It's totally shattered my

confidence, really, as

well as my cheekbone.

I find it very difficult

to go out, and I find it

very difficult to stay

in the house as well.

I certainly couldn't go to bars

or clubs or, you know, continue

my life as it was at the moment.

It's going to take quite a long time

to rebuild it, I think.

There were barriers

along here, and he was

assaulted just outside here.

Officers are looking for two men

following the assault, one described

as white and wearing a hood, whilst

the other is thought to be a black

or Asian man, aged

between 19 and 28.

We are very keen to speak to members

of the public who think they

have any information.

Anything that they may have that

can help identify him,

we are very keen to speak to them.

So, homophobic hate crime,

which includes the type of attack

Gordon went through at

the Troxy in December,

is on the rise in London.

Last year, there were over 2200

incidents reported to the

Metropolitan Police,

something they say they are keen

to do something about.

Gordon says that despite feeling

vulnerable now, he will get

better, and has this message

for his attacker:

Why are you so threatened

by a guy in a dress?

What's so scary about that?

Why do you feel that

you have to attack that?

And why are you so

insecure about your own

masculinity to have to do that?

Thomas McGill, BBC London News.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan,

has condemned the Parole Board's

decision to release the black cab

rapist John Worboys,

who was jailed indefinitely

for offences against 12 victims.

On Twitter the Mayor said: "I'm

astonished by the decision

to release John Worboys.

The Parole Board must listen

to his victims and he should not be

allowed to set foot in London."

Residents living near a compost

waste site in Hertfordshire have

taken to the streets to protest

over, what they call a toxic

and unhealthy recycling company.

People living near to

Reviva Composting in Elstree say

the stench from the site has plagued

them for years.

From above, you can see the scale of

the Reviva site, which has provoked

complaints from residents for years

about the bad smell. Those marching

today say the stench can be

unbearable. There is capacity to

recycle 78,000 tonnes of organic

material that the site. Can you tell

me what it smells like?

Sickening,

it really is sickening. We have to

shut our windows. Really

supplicating and makes you feel

nauseous and unwell.

It is a proper

stench.

The Environment Agency has

told us that Reviva Composting hold

a bespoke permit, meaning they can

operate within 250 metres of

residential properties. As part of

that, all composting must take place

inside a building, but they can

store material waiting to be

composting outside, as well as the

finished product. In a statement,

the Environment Agency also said:

If you are asking me about the

authorities, I'm really very angry

because they haven't shown me that

they really care. How can they let

this to happen for over six years?

We approached Reviva Composting for

comment, but nobody has come back to

us. The Environment Agency says it

is meeting with the local MP next

month to discuss the issues raised

by residents.

Let's find out what's the weather

got in store for us,

with Sara Thornton.

If you were asked to sum up the

weather for the last couple of days,

I'm sure you would point to how

gloomy it has been. Our weather

watchers certainly capturing the

picture of all the cloud we have

seen. Occasional breaks in that

cloud, but it will be much brighter

this week. However, that is after

some wet and windy weather to start

as of tomorrow morning. Initially

fine through this evening,

temperatures dipping away close to

freezing for a time, but as the

night wears on, temperatures

lifting. With that, some wet and

windy weather arriving for your

breakfast commute. It will be pretty

unpleasant first thing. The rain

won't clear until lunchtime or the

early part of the afternoon, and

behind that, yes, brighter, but some

sharp, potentially thundery,

showers. 11 Celsius in the morning,

but it will feel much colder by the

end of the day. Much brighter, some

sunshine for Tuesday and Wednesday,

but the strength of this wind will

take the edge of the temperatures

and it will feel pretty cool, and

then wet and windy for Thursday

morning.

That's it for now, but I'll be

back at twenty past ten.

Until then, have a lovely evening.

Goodbye.