Woman who was punched outside nightclub was protecting group of young girls from her attacker
An 18-year-old woman who had been beaten up outside a nightclub has come forward and said that she had been left out cold for five minutes after she confronted a man about calling other women there "fat c****". 20-year-old Liam Holmes was taken to the Ilford police station in Essex by his own mother on July 31 to speak to the police officers about the attack that took place outside the Faces nightclub in Gants Hill.
The shocking attack happened at around 3 a.m. on July 28 and is being treated by Scotland Yard as an assault causing actual bodily harm (ABH). Holmes has been bailed out of custody while the detectives investigate the matter further. The victim was filmed being knocked out by Holmes and lying unconscious on the pavement.
She said in an interview with The Sun on August 1: "All I remember is being on the floor with blood everywhere." She added that her mouth had been bleeding and that her face had been bruised quite badly. She said: "This guy was going round calling the women outside the club 'fat c****'. Him and another guy were backing a group of girls into a corner saying they were going to hit them. I told him he was in the wrong and he needed to walk away and be a gentleman and he lashed out."
Another partygoer who had been at the club that night said that Holmes had been hounding the victim for her phone number and that he had gotten angry when she refused to give it. The victim said: "He was confrontational and verbally abusive when I refused to give him my number. Luckily, I was with a large group of friends so it didn’t escalate the way it potentially could have. His mother is saying he was provoked but I certainly didn’t provoke him and I think I speak for all the young women out there when I say it’s outrageous that we can face such threatment by simply telling someone no."
Holmes was taken to the police station by his own mother, 53-year-old Cathy Holmes, who spoke to the Daily Mail on July 31 and said: "He's no terror". Arsenal fan Holmes and his mother live in east London and Cathy used to run a florists called Cathy's Flowers.
She said in the interview: "People will judge him on the back of that video clip but he's no terror. I had a brain hemorrhage a while back and he's been my carer. He hardly goes out anymore and, when he does, this happens."
In the clip, which is only nine seconds long, the woman can be seen going up to Holmes and getting in his face while he stands with his arms folded. The two of them can then be seen exchanging words which are not audible before Holmes is seen punching the woman really hard on the face with his right fist. The woman can be seen looking dazed after she gets punched and then stumbles forward a little. The man then punched her again after which the woman falls to the pavement outside the nightclub unconscious. Both Holmes and the victim wore black tops and blue jeans.
After being questioned by the police on July 31, Holmes was spotted exiting the Ilford Police Station. A spokesperson for the Met said in a statement: "A 20-year-old man has been interviewed under caution in connection with an alleged assault after attending an east London police station voluntarily yesterday. He was subsequently released under investigation. The alleged incident, which is being treated as actual bodily harm, took place outside Faces nightclub at 3am on Saturday. The female victim was taken to hospital for treatment, and subsequently discharged. Enquiries continue.
Cathy Holmes, his mother, told the Daily Mail: "The clip online showing him hitting the girl makes him look bad but that's only a fraction of the real story. There was a lot that went on before that clip that people don't know about. There was a lot that preceded it. He wouldn't do that for no reason. That's all I'll say for now because we're about to meet with our solicitor to go to the police station and give a statement. The police have assured me that they have the full CCTV footage so will know what went on beforehand."
A spokesperson for the Met told the publication at the time of the incident: "Police in Redbridge are investigating after a woman was assaulted outside Faces nightclub on Cranbrook Road, IG2. The incident took place at approximately 03:00hrs on Saturday, 28 July. The victim was taken to hospital for treatment. The incident is being treated as GBH. No arrests have been made. Enquiries continue."
Anyone with information or witnesses to the incident are asked to contact police on 0208 345 2669 quoting reference CAD1052/28.