When Sarah ordered a carrot anniversary cake for her girlfriend Lindsey from a cake shop in Arlington, Virginia, she got more than she bargained for. She asked for a custom design that includes no balloons, and the lettering ‘Happy Anniversary Lindsey! Love, Sarah.’

What she got instead, she told The Advocate, was a chocolate cake with the homophobic message ‘Lesbian Anniv. No Ballons’ written in bad handwriting across it.

When she complained, the manager apologised for the sloppy writing but not for its offensive content. The manager refunded Sarah’s money and offered her a ‘less sloppy’ cake but refused to address the homophobic message.

Sarah told The Advocate: ‘It’s disappointing to know that when I want to honour the most important person in my life, I have to worry about some intolerant person ruining the surprise I had planned.’

Washington DC, where the couple live, prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity, but sadly no such law exists across the border in Virginia.