'Drag queens' tell of felling thugs in Swansea city centre punch-up
The pictures captured by CCTV over the bank holiday weekend show two drunken yobs brawling on the street — until they made the mistake of confronting a pair of cross-dressing party-goers.
The images, which have been viewed all over the world, show unemployed thugs Dean Gardner, aged 19, and Jason Fender, aged 22, getting the surprise of their lives, because the people they confronted turned out to be part of a group of cross-dressing cage-fighters, whose response to the unprovoked attack was to leave them both sprawling on the floor.
The pair, both of Llanerch Road, Bonymaen, appeared before city magistrates this week, where they pleaded guilty to using threatening words and behaviour, and were ordered to be tagged and remain under a night house curfew for the next four months.
Meanwhile, the story has hit the national headlines — and now the men who stopped the mindless thuggery in its tracks can be revealed.
Daniel Lerwell and James Lilley are both cage-fighters, and train at the Team Predator gym in Fforestfach.
The night they were unwittingly captured on camera they had headed out for a night on the town with around 10 of their fighting colleagues.
Below: See the video everyone is talking about
James Lilley, aged 22, also of Mount Pleasant, said: "It's just a shame that people like that spoil things for everyone.
"A few of the boys were going out for a night and just thought we would do something different which was why were in drag.
"We were due to knuckle down to training because we had a fight coming up in six weeks, and it was the last chance for a blow-out.
"The first I knew was when this boy started shouting something at me and then came up to me.
"But in a way it was lucky it was us he started on us — who knows what they would have done if they had started on someone else?"
Pal Daniel Lerwell, aged 23, also of Mount Pleasant, said: "I always buy the Evening Post, and I saw the story on the front page in the morning, but I didn't realise it was me at first.
"My phone hasn't stopped ringing since.
" I think there were about 10 of us in all, and we were all in drag.
"I saw these boys go up to James and start calling him names, and then he was hit. I was shocked at first, and thought who are these pansies? But I wasn't really thinking, it was just instinct really."
Moments before the confrontation, Gardner and Fender, both of Llanerch Road, Bonymaen, had been involved in a scuffle with another club-goer, who was dressed as superhero Spiderman.
Defending them at Swansea Magistrates' Court, Mark Davies said: "You know it cannot have been a good night when you get into a fight with Spiderman and two cross-dressing men.
"Gardner thought it was a dream until he saw the video and could not believe it. You could not make this up."
Related articles:
Comment on this story