A photographer who was left blind in one eye after an alleged homophobic attack spoke on Sunday of his ambition to continue with his career despite his handicap, The Independent reported on Monday.
Tyler Maddick, 20, said he was called a "f*gg*t" before he was doused with petrol as he walked home from a night out in Swansea last week.
The freelance photographer, who studied at the London College of Fashion, had only moved back to the Welsh city recently. "It's made me more cautious when before I wasn't so," he said.
"I'm a bit wary now. Before I had that attitude 'it would never happen to me,' and obviously it has and... in the worst way possible. I'm only just getting used to it. I've realized just how bad the situation was."
Maddick said he has spent the days since the attack getting used to life with only partial vision. "I have to be a lot more careful... I have to look properly and make sure people aren't coming. My balance is a bit off, but I'm gradually adjusting to it."
The photographer says he was targeted by three or four men who he thinks "picked up on" his sexuality.
South Wales Police are appealing for witnesses of the attack, which happened as he walked home after accompanying a friend to the railway station, Jezebel reported.
"About 11 o'clock, a car pulled up behind me at a roundabout and [I heard] the word 'faggot.' The next thing I know I've got this liquid in my face. A few minutes later, I started to feel this burning sensation in my eye and I realized my phone at the time was out of battery [power], so I had to run home."
When Maddick went to the hospital the next day, he was given the devastating news about the loss of his vision.
"The nurse and a junior doctor just sat me down, and said: 'Look, it doesn't look as if your eye is going to get any better.'"
But Maddick, who had limited sight in his eye from an infection, said he is determined not to let the attack stop him from pursuing a photography career.
