A couple who have been convicted of selling alcohol without a licence from a pub in the Yorkshire Dales have been given notice to leave the property.

Douglas and Shanti Traynor have continued to reside at The Punch Bowl in Low Bentham, near Skipton, since they were found guilty of offences under the Licensing Act at Harrogate Magistrates Court in January.

They carried on running a campsite and Malaysian takeaway from the premises despite the building’s owner, Mark Dew, commencing eviction proceedings against them.

His civil action has resulted in Lancaster County Court ordering Mr Traynor and all other occupants to vacate The Punch Bowl by November 23. Possession will then be returned to Mr Dew.

The Traynors were evicted from The Shore in Falkirk in October

The eviction of the couple, 72 and 52, is the culmination of a long legal saga which began when they took on the tenancy in 2019.

Mr Dew alleges that they owe £80,000 in unpaid rent. He never gave consent for his premises licence to be transferred to either of the Traynors, and as neither of them had undergone the training to hold a personal licence, they could not sell alcohol from the pub.

However, inspection visits by North Yorkshire Police and Craven Council found that liqueur was being served, and a closure order was successfully granted in July 2022.

The council successully prosecuted them in January of this year, and they were convicted and fined.

Lancaster County Court has now ordered the couple to leave The Punch Bowl, which is to be repossessed

However, Mr Traynor faces further action in the criminal courts in January 2024, when he has been summoned to appear before Harrogate magistrates again for trial on charges that he breached the terms of the closure.

In August he pleaded not guilty to 12 charges, which include contravening a closure order, keeping alcohol on premises for unauthorised sale; exposing alcohol for sale and carrying on unauthorised licensable activity.

In February 2024 the couple will appear at York Crown Court for an appeal against their convictions to be heard.

Last month, the Traynors were photographed removing their belongings from a bar and restaurant called The Shore in Falkirk, Scotland, after being successfully evicted by the owner, who had given them notice to quit their tenancy after becoming suspicious of their past. They had left their son running the Low Bentham campsite.

The Punch Bowl, Low Bentham: Tenants convicted of selling alcohol without a licence from Yorkshire Dales pub handed eviction notice