Gay couple in discrimination row

The couple said they were "shaking with disbelief" after reading the advert

A gay couple has received a £5,000 pay out after an estate agent in Suffolk wrote the word "lesbians" in an advert for a house they were selling.

The word appeared in small print at the bottom of an internet description of the £650,000 detached home of Suzanne Richards, 36, and Sarah Dobinson, 44.

Lawyers said bosses at Jackson-Stops & Staff, in Bury St Edmunds, had breached discrimination law.

Jackson-Stops & Staff said the incident had resulted in a disciplinary hearing.

Ms Richards and Ms Dobinson, who live near Sudbury, Suffolk, said they were "shaking with disbelief" when they read the advert on www.rightmove.co.uk.

'Narrowly avoided' dismissal

In a statement, they added: "Publicly linking our home address with our sexuality could have ruined our lives."

The couple's lawyers, Russell Jones & Walker, said the estate agent had settled the case before it reached court.

Philip Gilbey, a partner in Jackson-Stops & Staff, said: "It was the regrettable action of an individual uploading the property details - it wasn't the butt of an office joke.

"It resulted in a formal disciplinary hearing and that person has narrowly avoided instant dismissal."