Two devout Christian hotel owners discriminated against two gay civil partners by refusing to let them share a double bed in their hotel, Bristol County Court ruled today.

Judge Rutherford held that the owners, who had a policy of not allowing unmarried partners to share double rooms, had directly discriminated against the couple on the ground of their sexual orientation.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission, which funded the case, claimed it is a ‘landmark’ judgment that will protect people in civil partnerships from discrimination.

In the case, one of the first brought under new equality laws, civil partners Martyn Hall and Steve Preddy sued Peter and Hazel Bull, owners of the Chymorvah Private Hotel in Cornwall, for refusing to let them share a double room because they were a gay couple.

The Bulls had a policy of not giving double rooms to couples who were not married, because their Christian beliefs meant that they did not believe in sex before marriage. They said the policy applied equally to unmarried heterosexual couples.

Rutherford said the defendants’ rights to practise their religion could be limited to protect the rights and freedoms of the claimants. He awarded Hall and Preddy compensation of £1,800 each.

John Wadham, legal group director at the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said: ‘The right of an individual to practise their religion and live out their beliefs is one of the most fundamental rights a person can have, but so is the right not to be turned away by a hotel just because you are gay.

‘The law works both ways. Hotel owners would similarly not be able to turn away people whose religious beliefs they disagreed with.’

The Equality Act 2010 came into force on 1 October. Regulation 3 of The Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 provides that a person ‘A’ discriminates against another person ‘B’ if, on the grounds of B’s sexual orientation, A treats B less favourably than they treat others.