Suspect accused of shouting transphobic slurs and being caught with cocaine
14:42, 16 Jul 2025Updated 14:44, 16 Jul 2025
The incident happened on Victoria Street in the centre of the city’s Pride Quarter
A man was charged with verbally abused two drag queens outside one of Liverpool’s most well-known LGBTQ+ clubs. Dean Ames, from Mount Pleasant, in Redditch, Worcestershire, was accused of shouting hateful comments towards the performers outside Heaven Nightclub, in Victoria Street.
At around 3.30am on Saturday, May 17, 2025, there were reports of a man shouting transphobic slurs at one drag queen before going on to verbally abuse another. It’s alleged he went onto homophobically abuse police officers called to the scene. A
mes has since been charged with three counts of using threatening/abusive/insulting words/behaviour to cause harassment/alarm/distress and possession of a controlled Class A drug, cocaine. The 43-year-old will appear in court at a later date in September.
Detective Constable Tom Sharrocks said: “No one should ever be subjected to this type of behaviour and should be able to do their job and be free to live their life without fear or intimidation.
Heaven on Victoria Street(Image: Liverpool Echo)
“There is no place for hate in our society. This incident occurred on International day against Homophobia biphobia, and Transphobia (Idahobit), which makes it all the more unacceptable. Thankfully, the staff called the police and the matter was dealt with swiftly.
“Merseyside Police will not tolerate hate crime of any form, and we will bring to justice anyone found responsible for committing any offensive behaviour.”
If you have information on any form of hate crime, you can contact Merseyside Police social media desk via Twitter @MerPolCC or Facebook Merseyside Police CC. You can also call 101, or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Heaven on Victoria Street.(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Merseyside Police said it is committed to tackling hate crime across all communities. The force encourages all victims of hate crime to come forward, as it has officers and staff dedicated to protecting victims who “will make sure you are supported at every step as sensitively as possible.”
If you do not wish to report a hate crime to the police for any reason, the independent charity Stop Hate UK runs a 24/7 confidential helpline for all hate crime victims at 0800 138 1625 or www.stophateuk.org. You can also download the Stop Hate UK reporting app on Google Play or the Apple App Store.
For the latest news and breaking news, visit liverpoolecho.co.uk/news. Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you by signing up to our daily and breaking newsletter.
Sign up to our breaking news newsletter here. Follow us on X @LivECHONews – the official Liverpool ECHO Twitter account – real news in real time. We’re also on Facebook/theliverpoolecho – your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Liverpool ECHO.