Couple feel forced to move due to abusive notes
A couple who have received homophobic notes through their door said they felt they had no choice but to leave their home.
Alex Houlden and her partner Rachel Roustoby, from Huntington in York, said they had been spat at in the street and received anonymous messages - including abuse scrawled across their front door on Christmas Day.
A spokesperson for landlord Yorkshire Housing said extra CCTV had been installed following the incidents and letters sent to all residents to warn them that those responsible would face legal action.
North Yorkshire Police was "actively investigating a series of harassment-type incidents which have been reported by the victims over several weeks," a spokesperson said.
Ms Houlden said the abusive notes had begun to appear over the past three months, with the comments "progressively getting worse".
On Christmas Day the couple woke up to find a homophobic message written on their door in permanent marker and a bag of dog waste left on their door handle, she said.
Ms Houlden said they had been left feeling "terrified".
She said: "It's just escalated and my partner's been getting approached in the street and told they don't agree with the lifestyle of being gay and she's been spat at."
The couple had hoped to save up enough money to buy a house in the next three years, but now feel forced to move out as soon as possible.
Ms Houlden said it was "absolutely awful to have to move" because of the abuse.
The couple said waste had been removed from their bins and left in their garden, as well as abusive messages written on parcels delivered to their flat.
Ms Roustoby, who has only recently talked openly about her sexuality, said: "I've never experienced this kind of thing before. It just felt wrong and really horrifying."
'Extremely distressing'
Security at the building has been increased, according to Gavin Hoban, director of places and customer engagement at Yorkshire Housing.
"The safety and wellbeing of our customers is our top priority, and we will not tolerate any behaviour like this," he said.
North Yorkshire Police said they had arrested a woman in her 50s from the York area as part of their investigation but she was released with no further action after being interviewed.
A spokesperson for the force said: "We can confirm these incidents are being treated as a hate crime and we've been carrying out a number of lines of enquiry to identify who is responsible.
"Incidents such as these are extremely distressing for victims and we take them very seriously."
Officers were working with the victims to "ensure they're kept updated and appropriate measures are in place for their personal safety," the spokesperson said.
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