An 18-year-old man has been jailed after swinging a wooden plank embedded with nails at two women before dragging one along the ground by her hair in a homophobic attack.

The couple were walking down

Grosvenor Hill in Margate when they were approached by a group of people.

One of the group, Tyler Crane, hurled homophobic abuse at the pair before swinging a wooden plank at them.

The group then closed in on the victims and assaulted them.

Crane was seen dragging one of the victims along the ground by her hair before punching her.

She suffered bruises as a result of the attack on Sunday, August 6.

Crane also stole the other victim’s bag, which contained a mobile phone, bank card, glasses and other personal items.

Following an investigation by police, Crane was identified by local officers as being the main suspect, and he was arrested in September.

At Canterbury Crown Court, Crane, of The Parade, Birchington, admitted the charges of the hate crime-aggravated assault by beating, affray, possession of an offensive weapon, and theft.

He was sentenced to 18 months in a young offenders institution when he appeared in court on Friday.

Detective Constable Steve East said: "This was an unprovoked, nasty attack on a couple by someone who was behaving as if he was a big deal, but in reality he just had small-minded, hateful views.

"Hate crimes can be so distressing for the victims so it’s important for our officers to bring the offenders responsible for those crimes to justice, as it sends out a clear message that such behaviour is not acceptable."