Man sentenced for suspected homophobic attack at Yorkshire Dales pub
Victim pushed down stairs in assault in Bentham
A man has been sentenced after a suspected homophobic attack at a pub in the Yorkshire Dales, where he pushed another man down a flight of stairs, leaving the victim with serious injuries.
Archie Stevenson, a 28-year-old from Bentber New Road in Thornton in Lonsdale, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
He was sentenced at York Crown Court today (6th November 2025) to a 12-month suspended jail term, a £1,000 fine, an alcohol abstinence order for 100 days, and 150 hours of unpaid work.
The attack occurred on 2nd October 2024 at the Hoggs and Heifers pub in Bentham. The victim, a man in his 40s, was enjoying a drink with his husband when, at around 9pm, he went to use the toilets. Stevenson then pushed him down a steep flight of narrow stairs.
The victim briefly lost consciousness and sustained multiple injuries, including a large cut to the back of his head, a cut to his left ear, a black eye, and a swollen knee.
The victim reported the incident to police, believing he had been targeted because of his sexual orientation. Earlier in the evening, he heard a group of men in the pub make a comment about him, saying, “That’s one of the gays there.”
As a result of the assault, the victim and his husband have decided to sell their caravan and 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.”
Anyone who has experienced or witnessed a hate crime is encouraged to report it to the police.