A man who pushed someone down a set of stairs in a Yorkshire Dales pub has been sentenced in court.
Archie Stevenson, 28, of Bentber New Road in Thornton in Lonsdale, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
He was sentenced today (Thursday 06 November 2025) at York Crown Court and received a 12 month suspended sentence, a £1000 fine, an alcohol abstinence order for 100 Days and he must complete 150 hours of unpaid work.
On the 28th September 2024 the victim, a man in his 40s, was enjoying a drink with his husband at the Hoggs and Heifers pub in Bentham.
Shortly after 9pm he walked over to use the toilets when Stevenson proceeded to assault him by pushing him down a steep flight of narrow stairs. The victim initially loss consciousness and sustained 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 the police as he is very much of the opinion that he was targeted because of his sexual orientation. Earlier that evening he remembered a group of men who were in the same pub which made a comment saying, “That’s one of the gays there”.
Following the incident, the victim and his partner 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.”
