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Four men have been arrested after a woman was physically and verbally assaulted in Birmingham’s Gay Village.

Content warning: This story may include topics that could make some readers feel uncomfortable.

The victim, who is in her 20s, was also threatened with a knife during the attack on Hurst Street.

The incident took place just before 5:30am on 8 January and four men have since been arrested on suspicion of a hate-related sexual assault, according to Birmingham World.

They are all still being questioned in custody and are believed to be aged between 18 and 22.

Suspicious behaviour was spotted by the region’s CCTV operators, which simplified the process of back-tracking on the footage when the crime was reported almost an hour later.

“We do not tolerate hate crime in our city and have recently set up a new StreetWatch in Birmingham’s Gay Village – the first of its kind in the country,” the West Midlands Police said in a statement.

StreetWatch will see patrols of local people take place in areas around Hurst Street in Birmingham in order to make the area safer.

You can learn more about it via @StreetWatchWM on Twitter or by emailing streetwatch@westmidlands.police.uk.