A poet, publisher and academic has blogged a poem about an incident, reportedly involving members of the band The Wanted, in which he says he had liquid thrown over him from a hotel balcony.

Todd Swift, editor of Eyewear Books and an English and creative writing lecturer at Kingston University, says in his poem: 

I feared five star hotels.

I feared five star windows.

Sniffed tabloid paper for kicks.

I was a page three boy.

According to a report in the Sun, Canadian-born Swift complained to police about the incident outside the Marylebone hotel, in London last week. Police investigated but said there was insufficient evidence to proceed after Swift alleged common assault.

The Sun quotes Swift as saying: “I came out of the gym and was walking down the street. Suddenly I was hit with a lot of liquid. It was not, as the police claim, a glass of champagne.”

The news has drawn interest and sympathy among fellow publishers and poets on Facebook, with Adele Ward, of Ward Wood Publishing, saying she was pleased to hear that at least Swift was wearing a hat: “I’m sure he was glad of it.”