Irish Postman Fired After Kicking Over Pride Garden Gnome

A postman in east Belfast has been fired after footage showed him kicking over a rainbow-coloured garden gnome.

Ring Doorbell footage from the afternoon of Saturday December 6 show the postman delivering mail to the house, before checking to see if there were any onlookers, and kicking over a plant pot housing a Pride flag and gnome.

“We were absolutely stunned when we checked the Ring footage. You never expect to see your own postman looking around to make sure the coast is clear and then deliberately kicking over your property,” one of the house’s occupants told Belfast Live.

“It wasn’t just a gnome and a planter. It felt like a targeted message, and that’s what has really shaken us.

“There’s no doubt in our minds that this was a homophobic act. These items weren’t in his way. He sought them out and kicked them over on purpose.”

Enquiries ongoing

The tenant said they had reported the incident to Royal Mail immediately and were told someone would be in touch, but had heard nothing until they went to the media.

“At the very least, we expected a call back, some reassurance, or even an acknowledgement that what happened was unacceptable,” they said.

“We are not trying to cause trouble for the sake of it, but we don’t want anyone else to go through something like this.”

Royal Mail stated that the “the individual was an agency worker, and their contract assignment has been terminated with immediate effect.”

Police confirmed to Belfast Live that they are treating the incident as a homophobic hate crime, appealing to those who were in the area at the time, or may have information such a CCTV to come forward.

“We received a report at around 11.15am on Sunday, 7th December of a plant pot containing a Pride flag and a garden gnome statue with a rainbow being knocked over at a property in the Rosebery Gardens area,” police said.

“It was reported that a man observed at the house at around 3.35pm on Saturday, 6th December, looked at the plant pot before deliberately kicking it over. This incident is being treated as a homophobic hate crime and our enquiries are ongoing.”