IT was heart-warming to see the entire Barrow community come together after LGBT people were allegedly threatened at a pride event last month, writes AMY FENTON .

People from all walks of life, representing all sexual preferences, were united in their shock and spoke of their anger that any group of society could reportedly be targeted in such a close-knit town.

And yet, despite the widespread welcoming spirit shown by the majority, we now hear that members of the LBGT community face hatred on a daily basis in Barrow.

It is a sad reflection on our society when police officers are having to attend gay pride events in order to reassure and protect party-goers.

Gay rights activist Lee Wicks should be commended for his work to tackle hate crime across the Furness area but we all must play our part regardless of our sexual preference.

It must not be down to the LGBT community to defend themselves alone.

No matter how small a minority of the population is responsible for these hate crimes, it is not welcome at all. Full stop.

This week has seen significant progress made in moving towards greater equality, with the news that gay couples can command the same legal rights as their heterosexual counterparts over spousal pension payments.

We might not be able to have as considerable an impact on equality as the Supreme Court has had in this case, but we can all do our bit.

All members of society must be vociferous in their rebuttal of any attempts to marginalise or target anyone based on their sexual preference, race or physical ability.

We will not tolerate it in Barrow and we can only hope that next Tuesday's meeting at Barrow Town Hall goes some way to kick-starting a multi-agency campaign to stamp out any form of discrimination.