cNutgroist

when mixed metaphors go right, all in the last line:

A parish priest has been beaten with a metal baseball bat in what police say was an unprovoked homophobic attack.

The Rt Rev Dr Barry Rathbone, 37, was sitting in Bournemouth Central Gardens eating a burger after a night out, when he was approached by a man and a woman.

The man began shouting homphobic abuse and hit Dr Rathbone, who is openly gay, leaving him with injuries including two broken ribs and several broken fingers.

He said his dog collar was hidden under a scarf at the time of the attack.


I admit I am an openly gay priest but [my sexuality] doesn't define me
Rt Rev Dr Barry Rathbone

Police said the assault was "totally unprovoked".

Dr Rathbone, of Winton, is parish priest for the Beacon Project at Boscombe's East Cemetery Chapel.

He told the BBC News website he had spent the evening at the Exchange gay bar when he was attacked on his way home.

The assailant also shouted expletives relating to Dr Rathbone's sexual orientation, he said.

"I admit I am an openly-gay priest but [my sexuality] doesn't define me," Dr Rathbone said.

"Being gay is just part of my personality. I don't look gay, if there is such a thing. I was just sat on a stone wall eating a burger."

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