They have sold their caravan and will not return
07:06, 10 Nov 2025Updated 07:07, 10 Nov 2025
Archie Stevenson targeted a man in a pub in North Yorkshire
A couple have vowed not to return to the Yorkshire Dales after homophobic comments were made before one of them was pushed down a set of steep stairs.
The victim, a man in his 40s, was having a drink with his husband at the Hoggs and Heifers pub in Bentham, North Yorkshire, when they heard the comment: “That’s one of the gays there”. Later in the evening as the man went to the toilets Archie Stevenson pushed the man down some steep narrow stairs.
The victim was knocked out and suffered a large cut to the back of his head, a cut to his left ear, a black eye and a swollen knee. Police were called and the victim said he was targeted because of his sexual orientation.
Stevenson, 28, of Bentber New Road in Thornton in Lonsdale, North Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He was sentenced on Thursday at York Crown Court and received a 12 month suspended sentence, £1000 fine, alcohol abstinence order for 100 Days and must complete 150 hours of unpaid work.
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The attack happened on the 29 September 2024 and following the incident, the couple have made the decision to sell their caravan and now no longer visit the Yorkshire Dales for short breaks.
Investigating officer PC Ruth Daley from North Yorkshire Police said: “The victim has shown a huge amount of resilience throughout the investigation process, and a large part of his motivation in reporting this incident is to encourage other victims to report their experiences to the police.
“Thankfully incidents of this nature are fairly rare, but this outcome sends out a clear message that this behaviour will not be tolerated”.