442 reported victims in 2017 were under 35 years of age, and more than 50 of the crimes were against people under 18 years of age. A number of factors may have contributed to the rise, including improved reporting by LGBT people. However, the number of offenders being brought to justice did not increase commensurately with the number of hate crimes recorded. It was reported that only one in five homophobic hate crimes are now solved. "Merseyside police told BBC Three there has been a 38% rise in trans hate crime since last year, with most victims aged between 26–35". In December 2018, it was reported that according to data from Freedom of Information responses received from 38 police forces across England, Scotland and Wales, Merseyside has the highest rate of recorded homophobic hate crimes. In 2019, Matthew, 23, and his partner were ‘being affectionate’ at a bus stop in Brixton Road, Lambeth, on January 19 when they were assaulted in a homophobic attack. The gay couple feared they would go blind after being pepper sprayed in the face. Matthew recalls his attacker, who was with a group of four other men, say ‘we don’t want your kind around here’. In 2019, a lesbian couple Melania Geymonat, 28, and Chris (surname unknown, 29) were harassed and assaulted during the early morning of 30 May, on a London bus. Reportedly, four teenagers (ages 15–18) began harassing the pair after discovering their couplehood, proceeding to ask them to kiss, making sexual gestures, discussing sex positions, and throwing coins. The scene escalated and both women were significantly beaten, first Chris, then Melania, along with belongings stolen. Both were later taken to hospital for facial injuries. Photos released show both women covered in their own blood. The four teenagers have been arrested for the assault. London mayor Sadiq Khan and then-Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn have both spoke out against the beating. In 2021, a murderer who bludgeoned a 69-year-old retiree to death with a hammer told psychiatrists he would never have stopped killing gay men if he had not been caught. "Remorseless" David Iwo, 23, advertised his services for sex online and tricked former Crown Prosecution Service lawyer Martin Decker into arranging a meeting at his flat in Vyner Croft, Prenton, on the evening of March 6 this year. Hate crimes against transgender people in England, Scotland and Wales, as recorded by police,