It recalls an era now almost forgotten in Western Europe, but when Jakub Gawron decided to join last month’s gay Pride march in the northeastern Polish city of Bialystok, it took physical courage to take his place in the line.

As the crowd of LGBTQ activists started to march, they were pelted with both rocks and rotten eggs; as they progressed some counter-demonstrators knelt at the pavement praying loudly while others hurled abuse: “F*** you, faggots!”. Police made more than 30 arrests.

“I was happy to be marching but also afraid,” 38-year-old Mr Gawron tells the Telegraph, a day after ‘coming out’ to his local edition of the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper. “They were physically threatening us, throwing stones. I admit, I was scared.”

Being openly LGBTQ in Poland in 2019, particularly in rural areas and smaller towns, is now taking increasing physical and mental fortitude as both the Catholic Church and the Polish state actively work to create a hostile environment for the gay community.

The ugly scenes in Bialystok were not an isolated incident. Several Polish regional parliaments have declared their districts to be “LGBT-free zones” in recent months after the liberal mayor of Warsaw signed a declaration in February supporting LGBTQ rights.