Gay Hotel Row Couple Have To Sell Up

Christian guesthouse owners who refused to allow a gay couple a double room because of their religious beliefs say the controversy has forced them to sell up.

Peter and Hazelmary Bull say they have had to put the Chymorvah Hotel in Marazion, Cornwall, on the market because they have not had enough guests and they cannot afford their legal costs.

The couple have had to pay £3,600 in damages to civil partners Martyn Hall and Steven Preddy, after refusing them a room in September 2008, in breach of the Equalities Act.

Next month the couple will take their case to the Supreme Court - the highest court in the land - after their original appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal.

They have put the nine-bedroom hotel, where they allowed only married couples to share a bed, on the market for £750,000 .

The Bulls regard any sex outside marriage as a "sin" but deny either direct or indirect discrimination.

Mrs Bull told the Western Daily Press: "Last winter was terrible. We were actually shivering and were hungry. In 2013, two people who worked all their lives at this have ended up cold and hungry. It's not right.

"This is like a death in the family. I never thought it would end like this. We are not facing the future with any real enthusiasm."

The sale particulars for the Grade II-listed hotel, describe "stunning views to sea, taking in St Michael's Mount, the Penwith peninsula, Penzance, Newlyn and Mousehole."