A husband and wife who refused to let a gay couple stay in a double bed at their B&B have been forced to put their business up for sale after legal bills became too crippling for them to stay afloat.

Hazelmary and Peter Bull, a devout Christian couple, purchased the Chymorvah Hotel in Marazion, Cornwall, England in 1986. Since then they have maintained a strict “heterosexual married couples only” policy when it comes to sharing double beds.

In 2008, gay civil partners Martyn Hall and Steven Preddy booked a room with a double bed for a two night stay. Upon arriving, they were told the hotel could not honor the booking and could instead offer them separate single rooms. The couple sued and, in 2011, a judge ordered Mr. and Mrs. Bull to pay them £3,600, citing that there is no difference between a civil partnership and a marriage, and that the Bull’s reason for denying the men a room was invalid and discriminatory.

The story made national headlines in the UK. Since then, the Bulls claim to have received death threats and vandalism to their property and website, which they say was hacked and “corrupted with pornography.” They also claim they have had the bolts removed from the wheels of their car and most recently found a dead rabbit nailed to their fence.

The B&B also lost its listing with hotel database Visit England, resulting in even more loss of business.

Despite a good summer of sunshine this year, they claim they were not even half full and believe they were the only hotel in the county “that had rooms left.”

In an interview with the UK’s Daily Mail, Mrs. Bull said: “Last winter was terrible. We were actually shivering and were hungry. We are coming towards next winter and dreading it.”

She continued, “In 2013, two people who worked all their lives at this have ended up cold and hungry. It’s not right. This is like a death in the family. I never thought it would end like this. We are not facing the future with any real enthusiasm.”

They currently have the B&B listed at £750,000. Despite everything, the Bulls continue to defend their right to stick to their principles and their belief in God, which is, sadly, about all they have left.

Photo credit: UK Daily Mail.