A British bisexual teen who claimed he suffered horrific injuries in a homophobic attack was not assaulted, according to police.

CCTV has revealed how Richard Scott Kennedy, from Blackpool, fell face first after a night out.

On 26 February, the theatre student claimed he was violently assaulted by a group because of his sexuality, with the gang stomping on his face causing his teeth to go into his gums.

He said he posted the picture because he wanted to raise awareness of homophobic attacks.

It worked, with hundreds of thousands of people sharing his story around the world.

Detective Inspector Paddy O’Neill said: ‘We managed to recover some CCTV footage which shows the injured party falling face-first onto the pavement.

‘We have showed him the CCTV and he now accepts his injuries were caused during the fall.

‘Having had oversight of the investigation since its inception and taking into account the full circumstances, I accept his report was made in good faith.

‘The investigation into this matter is indicative of the lengths we will go to when investigating reports of violent crime in the city.

‘We believe assaults, and hate crime assaults in particular, are under-reported in the city for many reasons.’