The gay couple, the poison pen letter and a police hunt for village homophobe
It is the Somerset village that generations of his family have called home since 1922.
So when Callum Hodge decided to marry his boyfriend Ashley Jenkins, Norton Malreward was where he wanted to spend their special day.
But the event has been overshadowed after an unsigned poison pen letter was sent to the couple – saying they should be ‘ashamed’ of their relationship.
the letter was opened by Mr Hodge’s mother Janie – four months before the couple held their reception at the family’s barn conversion in the village.
It read: ‘Callum should be ashamed of himself for putting his grandparents through this. He won’t go to heaven.
‘You need to lead him down a new path in life. the wedding should take place far, far away from the village. this is the consensus of the village.’
the family believes the author could be one of the village’s 232 residents and they have published an open letter in its local newsletter, calling on the ‘cowardly’ writer to come forward.
Mrs Hodge, 59, at first withheld the existence of the letter from her son and his partner, believing that it would ruin their wedding day, and reported it to police on the day she read it.
the mother- of-four said: ‘I was just devastated to read it. I didn’t want to speak to anyone because I thought everyone was out to get us. It is vile.’
Her son, 32, who runs a dog-walking business, met Mr Jenkins, 27, a dressage rider, ten years ago and the couple now live in Evenlode, Gloucestershire.
After marrying at Bristol Register Office on July 13, they enjoyed a ‘wonderful’ party which passed without incident. Mrs Hodge then told her son and other family members about the letter around a week after the ceremony.
Mr Hodge described the letter as an ‘evil, homophobic attack’ which he suspects was written by a ‘bigoted individual’ who the family knows.
He said: ‘I feel pity for that person. Why do they feel as though they have a right to do that – to try to ruin our day?’ Some residents have come forward to support the family, insisting the letter does not reflect the views of the whole community.
Avon and Somerset Police are calling for information from the public to find those behind the suspected hate crime.
Mrs Hodge added: ‘If we find out who it was, I want them named and shamed.’
It comes as Songs of Praise received 1,238 complaints after broadcasting a gay marriage for the first time. Viewers complained that the BBC’s decision to feature a same-sex marriage on the show in August was offensive to Christians.