To celebrate LGBT History Month, MM talk to LGBT figures from across Greater Manchester about their experiences of coming out and what progress they think the city still has to make towards equality.

Transgender people make up possibly lower than 0.1% of the population – yet still they experience a disproportionately high rate of hate crime and a number of cases go unreported.

Apprentice star Sanjay Sood-Smith spoke about his own personal experiences of homophobic abuse in Manchester yesterday, as part of the city’s Hate Crime Awareness Week (HCAW).

Police are re-appealing for witnesses after new incriminating CCTV footage emerged of an LGBT rugby player suffering a broken jaw following a homophobic attack on Canal Street four weeks ago.

An LGBT rugby player was left with a broken jaw after a homophobic attack on Canal Street – and now CCTV footage has emerged in a bid to track down the culprit.

Nearly half of all young transgender people under the age of 26 attempt suicide – with 30% saying they have had suicidal thoughts in the last year, a new study has revealed.

Manchester Pride have announced their donations to charity have risen to £54,000 this year – yet protesters maintain that the figure is still far too low.

Manchester-based LGF (Lesbian and Gay Foundation) are supporting the proposal of an overall increase in the quality of Sex and Relationship Education (SRE), especially in areas focussing on the teaching of gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans and intersex relationships.

The city’s gay football team Village Manchester are putting their best foot forward and backing the national Rainbow Laces campaign, to encourage more people in the game to come out as gay.

Police were called to the Village at 11.10pm on August 17 after CCTV operators captured a number of men fighting on Canal Street.

The project, funded by a £473,123 grant from the Big Lottery Fund, hopes to reach 22,000 people aged between 13-25 across the region, focusing particularly on Manchester and Stockport