LGBT+ charity 'appalled' at preacher’s sermon in Sheffield city centre

The preacher took to the Moor on the afternoon of July 18 and can clearly be heard stating that intimacy ‘should only be between a married man and woman’ and that ‘God would judge’ homosexuals in a video sent in to the Star.

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The resident who sent in the video said many shoppers ‘looked disgusted’ and ‘were sat opposite the man, milling around and shaking their heads at him’.

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SAYiT, a charity which supports young LGBT+ people across Sheffield, has since reacted to the footage, deeming it ‘appalling’.

CEO Steve Slack said: “The people of Sheffield will be shocked, too. This is a richly diverse and inclusive city.

"The majority of people will feel that this is unacceptable and do not want to see this type of hatred preached on their streets.

"Many young LGBT+ young people who we have been supporting during lockdown will be distressed if they come across such hatred.

"We will be available to support any young people affected by this incident.”

He added: "The preacher has clearly not used his time in lockdown to learn about what it is to be a decent and loving individual.

"I am glad there are organisations such as SAYiT working to counter hatred such as this.”

A South Yorkshire Police spokesperson confirmed the force had received a report of the incident.

They said it did not meet the threshold to be classed as a hate crime, but was recorded as a ‘hate incident’.

Under guidelines, police can only prosecute when the law is broken, but say they also want to know about non-crime hate incidents.

These incidents may not be criminal offences but often can feel like a crime to those affected, and can sometimes escalate to crimes.

Non-crime hate incidents include things such as offensive or insulting comments, online, in person or in writing.

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