A PAIR of thugs will stay behind bars for longer after brutally and violently attacking a gay couple.

Gage Vye-Parminter and Matthew Howes were give harsher sentences yesterday for attacking Dain Finney and James Loxton on Brighton seafront in May.

In January they were told to serve five years and four months but the Court of Appeal increased this to seven.

Mr Finney yesterday spoke of his happiness at the news and said the couple could now “move on with their lives”.

They ignored heckling of “faggot” and “gay boy” as they walked home from a night out but were pounced on by the heavily drunk Crawley pair. The kicking and punching only stopped when a passerby intervened.

Mr Finney, 22, suffered fractured eye sockets and cheekbones as well as a broken nose after being knocked out and falling to the floor unconscious. Mr Loxton, 24, was also left with cuts and bruises.

The 19-year-olds Vye-Parminter, of Breydon Walk, and Howes, of Weald Drive, admitted assault and grievous bodily harm. Vye-Parminter had just turned 18 weeks before and it was only his second alcohol-fuelled night out. The pair drank more than a bottle of vodka before going out that night.

Solicitor general Robert Buckland – the Government’s second most senior legal officer – brought the case because he felt the sentence was “unduly lenient” and “failed” to sufficiently reflect the homophobic motivation behind the attack.

He told the court the original sentence “fell into error” in that respect and there should be a “significant increase” to reflect public concern of hate crime and to protect victims.

Lady Justice Heather Hallett, the vice president of the Court of Appeal criminal division, said: “This was not an easy sentencing exercise. However, the sentencing inadequately reflected the offending.”

Howes and Vye-Parminter sat silently in a room at Aylesbury prison as they watched the proceedings live. They hung their heads as the judgment was announced. The court had heard of their “genuine remorse” for the “immature” act.

Judge Hallett said: “I accept that will come as a blow to both of you. We hope that you will continue to act as positively and constructively to make something of your lives.”

Mr Finney, who is awaiting more surgery for his injuries, told The Argus: “It is good to hear they did take it seriously and see this as a hate crime. This is closure for us, it’s over now, we can move on.”

But he said the attack had changed how the pair’s relationship and their outlook on life forever.

HATE CRIME ATTACKS 'WILL BE DEALT WITH SEVERELY'

HOMOPHOBIC attacks and the perpetrators of hate crime will be dealt with severely, the Government’s second most senior legal officer has warned.

Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC made the comments after personally stepping in to seek an increased sentenced for Gage Vye-Parminter and Matthew Howes at the Court of Appeal. 

Speaking exclusively to The Argus after the judgment, he said: “This was absolutely the right course of action to take.

"The concern was that it [the law] has not been as well used as it could have been. This sends a clear message to the community and society – perpetrators of hate crime will be dealt with severely.

"It is a powerful message about the fact that society will not tolerate this behaviour in Brighton or anywhere else.

"But this doesn’t detract from the attack, it was a horrifying attack, for members of the public who were witnessing it as well as the victims.”

More applications to increase sentences have been made in recent years but only around 150 sentences for 80,000 cases prosecuted are altered, he said, adding: “This is an indication our judges are by and large doing their job. This case serves as a reminder that the law is there to be used.”

Factfile

ANYONE can refer a sentencing to the Attorney General’s office if they believe it is unduly lenient. 

In some cases the Solicitor General Robert Buckland refers the cases and represents them himself. Members of the public can also make the request.

The case may be referred to the Court of Appeal to be heard by some of the country’s most senior judges who decide if the sentence should be changed. 

Mr Buckland is particularly keen for more hate crimes to be brought before the courts. 

In 2015 to 2016, the Crown Prosecution Service brought 338 hate crime cases to court in Sussex.