Reported hate crimes during Great Yarmouth's Pride event have sparked a working relationship between an LGBTQ+ organisation and the police.
Great Yarmouth and Waveney's Pride parade on September 3 - which saw hundreds of people march along the Golden Mile in support - was said to be "warm and inviting" by event organisers.
However, the day also saw two reports of hate crimes committed against members of the LGBTQ+ community, including an assault on a 13-year-old boy in St George's Park at 8.19pm.
A separate incident also occurred on Saturday afternoon in the Market Place when a girl in her early teens was passing a man who made homophobic and religiously aggravated comments which caused her to feel alarmed and distressed.
Following the reports, Great Yarmouth and Waveney Pride announced they will work closely with Norfolk and Suffolk Constabularies to tackle prejudices against people's sexuality and gender.
Great Yarmouth and Waveney Pride's lead chair Kyle Hussey said: "We're pleased to be working with the police in regards to the recent attacks on the LGBT community.
"We have recently done a poll which shows a high number of hate crimes have been committed within the town and 97.5pc go unreported due to a lack of confidence in the police force.
"Since speaking with the police, we're pleased to say they are working with us in the long term to resolve any issues.
"We will hold an open meeting with anyone within or outside the LGBT community to discuss their concerns, and then a plan will be put into place moving forward."
PC Peter Davison, community engagement officer for North Norfolk and Great Yarmouth, said: "We are currently exploring how we can reach out and better engage with LGBTQ+ communities to build relationships which will in turn, increase trust and improve reporting.
"We would encourage anyone who has been a victim of a hate crime to get in touch either via 101 or by contacting Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
Great Yarmouth and Waveney Pride will be having initial conversations with the police on Monday to arrange a time and date for the upcoming public meeting in Great Yarmouth.
For more information, visit Great Yarmouth and Waveney Pride on Facebook.
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