Gay couple Steven Preddy and Martyn Hall have won a discrimination case against a Christian-run B&B for not being allowed to share a double bed. A Bristol County Court judge has ruled that Peter and Hazelmary Bull unlawfully refused the men the room, awarding the gay couple £1,800 in damages each.

Preddy had booked a room at the establishment in 2008, and Mrs Bull assumed it would his wife staying with him. When he and Hall arrived, they were refused a stay in a double room by the manager, Bernie Quinn, and offered separate single rooms instead – because allowing them to stay together would be an affront to their faith.

The B&B’s website also has a notice that tells potential guests that they prefer to only let double accommodation to heterosexual married couples. The gay rights organization had sent the Bulls a notice a month before Preddy made his booking, warning that the statement on their website was illegal. After being refused, the gay couple used the 2007 Equality Act Regulations to launch the case, claiming damages of £5,000.

Preddy and Hall say they are very happy with the ruling. When they booked the hotel, they just wanted to take a relaxing weekend break away like thousands of other couples, they continued. They are really pleased the judge has confirmed that the circumstances of their civil partnership hold the same status in law as a marriage between two heterosexual people, they added, and that no one is above the law, regardless of their religious beliefs.