Gay couple save life of homophobe who abused them for three years
A married gay couple in Birmingham, England saved their homophobic neighbor in a house fire, after years of verbal abuse.
Bryn and James Tudor experienced years of verbal abuse from their neighbor, Baljit Koonar, according to Sunday Mercury. Even after Baljit Koonar was forced to sign a “Good Neighbour Agreement” in 2008, the abuse continued.
Last week, Koonar received a 18-month supervision order and was forced to pay the couple £150 as compensation.
Just a few weeks before that, Koonar and his family were trapped in a deadly fire.
“I was sleeping when something woke me up at around 5am. I could taste smoke in the back of my mouth,“ James explains.
“I couldn’t see anything out of the front window, but when I went to the back there was smoke billowing out of next door and the family were on the roof.”
Koonar, his wife, their two children, and the children’s grandmother were stranded on the roof.
After rushing to get a ladder, the couple helped the family down to safety and brought them into his home. They offered them water and and chocolate to calm them.
“Our thoughts weren’t about him. We wanted to get the kids down as soon as we could. You don’t think about anything that person has done, it’s just about the value of human life.“
James hopes that they can now be "proper neighbours,” if not, friends.
(Photo: Todd Klassy)
