A Scottish man says he was hospitalized after he was viciously assaulted for wearing a kilt.
Christopher Baxter claims he was followed through the picturesque village of Tideswell, in the Peak District, last Saturday on September 10.
He said he was attacked before he spent the night in the Accident & Emergency department at Chesterfield Royal Hospital in Derbyshire.
The shocked Scot explained: "I became the victim of a pre-meditated, sustained, and vicious assault in the centre of Tideswell village for having the audacity to wear a kilt.
"One particular young man, known in the village, and a regular at the village's three pubs had already suggested some weeks previously that I 'shouldn't wear a kilt here' because 'this is England'.
"Not content to leave his ranting there, his alcohol-fuelled discourse moved on to the European Referendum. Why would I, or anyone else, have voted Remain? Wasn't I proud to be British?
"This topic then inexplicably, though perhaps predictably, merged into his next line of questioning: Scottish independence.
"Despite having a fairly obvious dislike of the Scottish in general, and particularly of Scotsmen who dare to wear a kilt in England, our subject went on to explain how the Scots are deluded, as we would be nothing without the English.
"Still, I laughed it off, bought the guy a drink, and the whole sorry episode came to nothing. Until this past weekend.
"Same pub. Same guy. Same Little-Englander discourse. Only this time he was with a couple of his mates. And this time, I was asked to leave the pub for 'causing trouble'; as far as I could tell, simply being there and being Scottish were enough to be accused of 'causing trouble' by the landlady of The Star Inn.
"On leaving the establishment, the lad and his two mates followed me to the junction of the High Street and the B6049, where they decided to jump me from behind, explain to me rather forcefully their dislike for Scotsmen, and invite me to 'f**k off back where I came from'."
"I was lucky that a friend of mine was able to intervene and the assault wasn't more serious."
Mr Baxter said: "There is a dangerous brand of English xenophobic nationalism coupled with alcohol-induced celebratory violence stalking the streets of this country: in towns and cities; in villages and across the countryside. It's directed at anyone who is different, anyone with a different accent even. It must not be tolerated any longer."
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