A new historical study examines male same-sex activity in Belfast between the 1890s and the 1940s.

Tom Hulme draws on diaries, court records and newspaper archives to show where men met and the risks they faced.

David Harbison Strain kept detailed diaries from 1896 onward that describe his efforts to find partners in the city.

Court cases from the period show men arrested in parks, public toilets and near the docks, often involving sailors or newsboys.

One man arrested in the 1890s asked what his wife would say.

Woolworths department store was noted as a frequent meeting point during the 1930s.

Arrests for gross indecency remained low until the late 1950s, and more than half of men who pleaded not guilty were cleared or had charges dropped.

A middle-aged secretary to a former lord mayor avoided prosecution in 1904 after a judge ruled alcohol removed culpability.

The research shows class differences sometimes protected men from lasting consequences, allowing some to keep jobs and family roles.