A couple rejected as foster parents because they refused to condone homosexuality have won a major victory.

Eunice and Owen Johns threatened legal action against their local council after being informed they would have to tell any vulnerable youngsters in their care that it was acceptable to be gay.

The devout Christians' stand has paid off and the council has agreed to reconsider their foster application.

"I really want this application to be successful," said Mrs Johns, a 59-year-old Sunday school teacher.

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"We have a lot of love to give a child. But our religious beliefs are very important to us and we felt that we had been discriminated against."

The couple had provided weekend respite care for troubled children from 1996 to 2000, when their catering business began to take up too much of their time.

They re-applied this year to resume their care work expecting that the nationwide shortage of around 8,000 foster parents would help support their case with Derby City Council.

They fell foul, however, of anti-discrimination legislation. The Equality Act (Sexual Orientation), which came into force last April, makes it illegal for any business or organisation providing a public service to discriminate on grounds of an individual's sexuality.

Full article here.