POLICE have rebuffed claims that they did not properly investigate an attack on a gay man in Chatham.

Officers say they did everything they could and decided not to pursue the matter when the man, known as Dave, told them not to take the case any further.

Dave, who moved from London to Chatham to avoid homophobic attacks, had criticised the police for the way they handled the investigation into his attack.

He initially called police after suffering a vile spate of verbal homophobic abuse before the yobs attacked him.

A spokesman for the police said: "We fully investigated the assault in April 2002 and regular contact was maintained with the man who was attacked before he stated he didn’t want to pursue.

"Officers had previously investigated a series of incidents of abuse and damage to property that the man and his partner suffered between April and July last year.

"Neighbourhood officers actively pursued the allegations and as a consequence, a youth was warned for harassment and the incidents stopped."

Anyone who suffers from a hate crime can not only contact the police, but they can also talk to the Kent Homophobic Incident Reporting Line on 0800 328 9162.