A 16-year-old boy has been arrested following an alleged homophobic hate crime in Chichester city centre.
The incident happened in Little London car park, behind East Street, at around 6pm on Tuesday, October 13.
The victim, a man in his 20s, reported being followed and verbally abused by a group of young men riding bicycles.
He was left shaken by the incident, which Sussex Police is treating as a homophobic hate crime.
Officers launched an investigation after being made aware of the allegations. They subsequently visited the victim at a nearby venue to offer reassurance and take a full statement.
Teenager arrested on suspicion of hate crime offence
Sussex Police confirmed that a 16-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of using threatening or abusive words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
The teenager was also arrested on suspicion of shop theft.
He was issued with a Community Protection Warning and has been bailed pending further enquiries.
The teenager cannot be named for legal reasons.
Police urge victims to report hate crime
Inspector Dave Lyons, from Chichester Neighbourhood Policing Team, said the incident had been distressing for the victim and acknowledged the concern it had caused within the wider community.
He said: “This was a distressing incident for the victim and we understand the concern it has caused for the wider community.
“Hate has no place in our communities. We understand that reporting it can sometime be difficult, but we continue to encourage anyone impacted by hate crimes to report them to Sussex Police.
“We are continuing to work with partner agencies in Chichester to further support victims of crime.”
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to report it to Sussex Police online, quoting reference 47260238010.
