- A 19-year-old man was wearing fancy dress when he was on the Tube in London
- The teenager was approached by two men and verbally abused and strangled
- British Transport Police have released pictures of two men they want to speak to
A 19-year-old man was strangled and forced to apologise for being gay during a shocking homophobic attack on a busy London Underground train.
The teenager was wearing a fancy dress costume and was with his friends when his alleged attackers confronted him.
Both he and his friends were verbally abused after the two men boarded the train at West Ham, east London, and became more aggressive.
British Transport Police said the first offender pulled the man from his seat and started strangling him after putting him in a headlock.
British Transport Police has today released CCTV footage of the two men they want to speak to in connection with the incident
The second offender allegedly took the victim’s phone and verbally abused him before making threats to stab him.
One of the victim’s friends, a 25-year-old woman, was punched and pushed to the ground and was left bruised. The original victim did not sustain any injuries.
Police are now appealing for witnesses following the incident at 11.10pm on October 21 and have released images of the men they want to speak to.
The men are said to have demanded that the victim apologise for being gay and the victim eventually did while being strangled.
Eventually the pair let him go and gave him his phone back but a fight broke out between the offenders and his friends.
A BTP spokesman said: ‘Officers would like to speak to the people shown in the images as they may have information which could help the investigation.
![The man had got on the train at West Ham Tube station (pictured) and was later verbally abused](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/04/12/46F84F9E00000578-5143507-image-a-97_1512389916283.jpg)
The man had got on the train at West Ham Tube station (pictured) and was later verbally abused
‘If you recognise them, please call BTP on 0800 40 50 40 or text 61016, quoting reference number 273 of 1/12.
‘Hate crime will not be tolerated by British Transport Police. We believe that everyone has the right to travel safety.
‘We won’t tolerate behaviour where someone is targeted because they are perceived to be different, or made to feel uncomfortable on their journey.
‘You can text us on 61016 to report non-emergency incidents.’