Ethan Stables, 20, pictured, has been detained in hospital indefinitely for plotting to kill people at a gay pride night at a pub in Cumbria

A white supremacist has been detained in hospital indefinitely after potting to attack a gay pride event at a pub.

Ethan Stables was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court this morning after being convicted of the plan to 'slaughter gay b*******' in February.

Stables was arrested by armed police as he made what prosecutors described as a final reconnaissance visit to the New Empire in his home town of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, last summer.

Recorder of Leeds, Judge Peter Collier QC, told Stables he posed 'a very real risk to the public'.

Judge Collier QC said the defendant had been spared a conventional prison term because of the 'severe' nature of his mental health issues, and instead used sections 37 and 41 of the Mental Health Act when delivering sentence.

It means Stables cannot be released from detention in hospital until a decision is taken by a mental health tribunal.

The judge said: 'On the seventh of February this year I set out my position.

'I said last time it was my judgement you had said many wild and crazy things but had done very little.

'But you are responsible for what you said and the jury believed that by your intention you were making plans to kill.'

Stables had told the jury he was a fantasist, bisexual and not homophobic during the trial.

Judge Collier QC added: 'The prosecution said it was a pack of lies as you tried to manipulate your way out of the situation.

'The very fact [your lying] is a live issue is one of the real risks you pose.

'Your responsibility is diminished by your condition.

'It is my clear decision the protection of the public requires a hospital order and a restriction order and that is what I make.'

Stables, pictured posing at a carnival with a toy rifle aged 11, was also found to be researching methods to make explosives

The jury previously heard the 20-year-old white supremacist, who has Asperger's syndrome, promoted homophobic, racist and Nazi views online

He said if he had imposed a prison sentence it would have been between five and 10 years.

Following his arrest on June 23 last year, officers later discovered he had kept a machete, an axe and knives at his home, which were supposedly weapons to carry out the attack.

Social media posts to far-right pages revealed he was intent on 'going to war' and wanted to 'slaughter every single one of the gay b*******'.

During his trial at Leeds Crown Court, prosecutors claimed he had a 'deep-seated hatred of black, Jewish, Muslim and especially gay people', with the defendant saying he had been 'brainwashed' by right-wing extremists he met while living in hostels.

Jurors were shown a picture of a swastika hanging from Stables' bedroom wall, and a video of him claiming 'gays look nicer on fire' while setting a rainbow flag alight.

In his evidence he claimed he was a fantasist and a bisexual.

He argued that, at the time of his arrest, he was looking to use free public WiFi, but prosecutors said he was intent on murdering multiple people and was carrying out a final reconnaissance visit to the pub.

Following his arrest, police found he had Googled 'how to make chemical poison', 'what is prison like for a murderer' and 'I want to go on a killing spree'.

Analysis also revealed he had been researching methods for making a bomb from matches, and kept a collection of cut-off matches in his flat, having spent seven months researching firearms.

Data from his phone revealed he blamed his joblessness on 'f*****s, n*****s, s******s' and the Equalities Act.

Stables had also sent threatening and offensive WhatsApp messages including 'I might just become a skinhead and kill people'.

In messages, he outlined his hatred for Muslims and Jews, and said: 'I might just become a skinhead and kill people.'

He was convicted of preparing an act of terrorism, making threats to kill and possessing an explosive substance in suspicious circumstances.

Following his conviction on February 8, his barrister Patrick Upward QC told the Recorder of Leeds, Judge Peter Collier QC, that Stables led a 'melancholy life' up to the day of his arrest and lived in 'almost squalid conditions'.

Mr Upward added that his client 'bears no comparison with the men who attacked Corporal (Lee) Rigby,' and that he did not have the 'wherewithal' to follow through on the plan.

Prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford told the judge that Stables had intended to attack multiple persons and had looked at a number of ways of doing it.