UK couple in viral video attacking Pinay nurse pleads guilty to racist assault
The elderly couple who was caught on video assaulting a Filipino nurse in a UK park last year pleaded guilty to racist assault.
Fyona and Michael Bairstow, 72 and 77 respectively, appeared at Bradford Magistrates' Court on March 11 as part of their case stemming from the incident in Manor Heath Park, Halifax, in England last August, as reported by ITV News.
Michael Bairstow also pleaded guilty to an additional charge of assault by beating.
According to reports in August 2025, Apple Moorhouse, a British citizen of Filipino descent, was at the park with her daughters, aged 11 and 6, and her visiting parents when she told Michael Bairstow to leash his dog, who had gone up to her younger daughter and started barking.
A video that went viral online showed the elderly couple then becoming physically and verbally aggressive toward Moorhouse, who was, then, working as a nurse for the National Health Service.
She told local outlet Daily Mail that the couple was with a group of dogwalkers. When she confronted Michael about his dog, she said the man told her, "Shut up, f—k off, and go back to where you came from on the dinghy boat."
In one of the clips, Fyona Bairstow could also be heard laughing at Moorhouse's father, telling him, "You can't even speak English."
To Moorhouse, she said, "As for you, do you know what you are? That is what we call slavery," referring to the healthcare worker's job.
The man then approached the group and threw water at Moorhouse, prompting her daughter to scream, "Stop."
According to BBC, he also told his dog to "get her, kill." He also reportedly said, "Ban immigrants."
As Moorhouse continued to film the couple, ITV reported Fyona grabbed the Filipino's phone and told her, "I'll make you so bloody sick you'll wonder what the hell is going on."
In a statement, Moorhouse said, "When I tried to walk away, the female pulled me back by my ponytail, causing my head to go backwards."
"They were very racist towards me. They seemed to want to make everything a conversation about immigrants and calling me a slave," she added.
According to records, the court heard that when another woman intervened, telling Michael to get away from Moorhouse, the man reportedly punched the left side of her face and said, "Sticking up for immigrants. Who do you think you are?"
Pinay nurse says the incident continues to plague her
Speaking to reporters outside after the hearing, Moorhouse said the incident continues to plague her, causing her to keep "looking over my shoulder."
"I feel anxious, obviously. Every time that I think back, I feel upset," she said. "It's a big thing, racism, and it needs to be dealt with."
"At their age, they should know better, but obviously, they didn't," she added.
"I've been here since 2009, and never had anything like this before. For 10 years, it was fine, but now it's got worse," said Moorhouse, who was with the NHS for over 10 years at the time of the attack.
Following the assault, Moorhouse said she "felt scared... this happened" and hasn't gone back to work since then.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council condemned the incident, calling it "shocking and disgraceful."
"Across the health sector, we must confront racism and discrimination wherever it occurs, so that every nurse, midwife, and nursing associate can feel safe, valued, and respected as they continue to care for us all," said the council's chief executive Paul Rees.
Fyona and Michael Bairstow, who reside in Shelf, Halifax, were released on bail, on condition that they refrain from going to Manor Heath Park or contacting Moorhouse. Their sentencing is scheduled for April 15.
