A 21-year-old man, subjected to a homophobic attack in his home village of Neilston, has gone viral after posting a defiant selfie, showing him smiling broadly and with the blood streaming down his face, just seconds after the attack.

Blair Wilson was heading home after going to his Mum's house for dinner when he was verbally abused and then physically attacked by another young male.

Seconds before being kicked and punched Blair was called a 'p**f' and a 'fa***ot. He was left with blood streaming down his face and with a cut on his nose.

Blair called the police, who confirmed to Glasgow Live that they are investigating a hate crime, but it was his defiant response, just seconds after the incident, that has seen his Facebook post shared and liked thousands of times and led to messages of support from around the world.

Blair told Glasgow Live: "I live myself and my Mum called to say she'd made dinner for me. I went down to her house and got dinner and was walking back to mine with my dinner in my bag when I saw these people at the bus stop.

"I crossed the road, got on my phone and decided not to make eye contact. Then I heard someone shout 'Here you, you're a p**f.' I laughed at first. It was comedy to me. I kept walking and then thought, 'no - why am I letting this happen, in the place where I have grew up?'

"I went over and wasn't threatening, I just asked 'why would you shout that at someone? What is that accomplishing for you?' He just kept saying stuff and his pal then called me a 'f**got'.

(Image: Blair Wilson/Facebook)

"His girlfriend came up at that point and apologised and said 'I am really sorry, he's just drunk.' At that point I said 'you need to watch out for that then hen.' Then he came forward again and said 'you can't call her hen, that's heavy disrespectful.' I said 'I am sorry, but you've just called me a p**f and a f**got.' That was the point when I thought I need to just leave this and started to walk away. Then they started following me.

He was speaking to me again and when I turned around, that's when he kicked me in the chest. He was obviously expecting me to go down but I didn't and then he punched me in the nose and that's when I started bleeding. Someone came from the pub across the road and asked if I was okay, called the wee guy a f**ny and told him to go away.

"I didn't know what else I could do to defend myself at that point. I couldn't do it physically - so that's when I took the picture."

What Blair didn't expect was the reaction that followed and the messages of support that flooded in from around the world.

The selfie, he explained, was his way of striking back non-violently. It also ended with some words for an attacker 'insecure in his own sexuality'. Signing off with a 'kiss Emoji' he wrote: "Wish u well."

In doing so he hoped that other his take some kind of strength from it, if they ever find themselves in a similar situation.

"It's been incredible," he continued. "I've had messages from Montreal, Florida, California. I was so astounded and so happy. My mailbox on Facebook is full and I am still trying to get through it to thank everyone. I feel so happy and empowered by the support.

"I just hope people see the post and the support and think 'if something like this happened to me, people would be behind me.'"

Blair admits that the attack did, however, affect him deeply. He didn't leave his house for two days afterwards and added: "My Mum got a fright."

He was determined to make his own stand though and said that while there have been incidents in the past, 'Glasgow has come a long way'. He just never expected this to happen so close to home, in an area he's lived in all his life.

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"I have had verbal situations in the past and there are still times when I do go out with my friends and feel uncomfortable and hear people saying things or staring," he said. "But I do think things have come a long way. Don't get me wrong, I do feel safe when I go out. When I am in Glasgow I do keep an eye open but I didn't expect this to happen in the place where I grew up. Everyone's so close here. Everyone knows each other."

A spokesperson for Police Scotland confirmed to Glasgow Live that they are investigating the attack. "We can confirm that an investigation is underway after a 21-year-old man was attacked on Main Street in Neilston on June 29. The incident happened at around 10.25pm and Police are treating this as a hate crime."