The Christian owners of a B&B which refused to allow a gay couple stay in a double room acted unlawfully, a judge has ruled.
Martyn Hall and his civil partner Steven Preddy, from Bristol tried to check into the Chymorvah Hotel, near Penzance B&B in September, 2008.
However owners Peter and Hazelmary Bull refused the gay couple a double room because they were unmarried which he Hazelmary’s argued this was an affront to their Christian faith.
However the judge saw things differently, ruling that the B&B discriminated against Hall and Preddy in what is considered to be a landmark case.
The couple, who used the 2007 Sexual Orientation Regulations to pursue their case were delighted with the outcome.
“When we booked this hotel we just wanted to do something that thousands of other couples do every weekend – take a relaxing weekend break away,” they said.
“We’re really pleased that the judge has confirmed what we already know – that in these circumstances our civil partnership has the same status in law as a marriage between a man and a woman, and that, regardless of each person’s religious beliefs, no-one is above the law.”
They were awarded £1,800 each in damages at Bristol County Court.
