CAMPAIGNERS remain 'resolute and proud' a year after Barrow terrorist Ethan Stables was found guilty of planning to commit a terror attack at a gay pride event.

Last February Ethan Stables, then 20, was convicted of planning to kill people attending the event at the New Empire pub.

Stables had written on Facebook that he planned to “slaughter every single one of' those attending. But armed police were able to stop him on Michaelson Road - just yards away from the pub - after they received a tip-off.

He was unarmed when he was arrested on June 23 but police found an axe and a machete at his home, Leeds Crown Court heard.

Looking back, Lee Wicks, chairman of the Friends and Supporters of the Furness LGBT Community, has revealed how he will not forget what was a “very dark two years” and has sent a message of strength and pride to everyone within Barrow’s LGBT community.

“I won’t forget a year ago today, the conviction of a young man, for attempting to carry out an act of terrorism against the LGBT community in Barrow," he said.

“The radicalised man developed a disturbing ideology including a deep seated hatred towards LGBTQI+ people. Be under no illusion, if successful, it would have been the worst in UK since The Admiral Duncan pub bombing in Soho 1999, and as horrific as The Pulse Nightclub massacre in Orlando, it does not bare thinking about.”

Despite the severity of Stables’ crimes, Mr Wicks added he was glad Stables is housed in a secure mental health unit rather than a prison, so he is able to get the adequate treatment and rehabilitation he needs.

“I am immensely proud of our LGBT group and the wider LGBT community, including our straight allies, and those who have genuinely and actively stood by our local LGBT community, during a very dark two years," he said.

“I genuinely hope we, or no other marginalised group is not targeted in the future, though with the rise of extremism especially the far-right I am cautious. We must remain vigilant. We stand defiantly resolute and proud."