Gately suffers homophobic attack

Former Boyzone star Stephen Gately has turned his back on settling down in the English countryside after being subjected to a terrifying homophobic attack.

The 30-year-old, who 'wed' his entrepreneur partner Andy Cowles last month, went public about his sexuality in 1999 and was convinced people were comfortable with him being gay.

But he has been the target of a torrent of abuse since appearing in the stage adaptation of The Wizard Of Oz at Canterbury, England's Marlowe Theatre - despite initially planning to settle down in the idyllic part of Kent.

One recent attack saw the gang of thugs corner him outside the theatre as he was leaving. An off-duty policeman stepped in and called for help.

Gately says: "Canterbury is beautiful and I loved it. When I first arrived, I thought seriously about buying a property here. I wanted to make it my home.

"But I have been abused by teenagers and lots of people are rude to me in shops because I am gay. It's frightening."

A police spokesman says: "It was a frightening situation and the victim was left shaken. We are still looking for those responsible."