The Punch Bowl, Low Bentham: On-the-run Yorkshire pub landlord arrested in Scotland where he was running Highlands hotel

Douglas Traynor, 73, ran The Punch Bowl in Low Bentham, near Skipton, with his wife Shanti until last November, when the pub’s owner secured civil court papers to evict them.

In January, the Army veteran failed to turn up to Harrogate Magistrates Court, where he was found guilty of a number of offences under the Licensing Act relating to the sale of alcohol without a licence.

Unimpressed magistrates issued a warrant for his arrest on January 8, stating that he would not be sentenced until he attended court. Low Bentham residents had already been told that the Traynors had returned to his native Scotland.

Mr Traynor was at large for almost two months, and failed to turn up to an appeal hearing at York Crown Court in February against a previous conviction for similar offences committed at The Punch Bowl.

North Yorkshire Police have now confirmed that Police Scotland arrested Mr Traynor on March 5, and on Thursday he was taken to York Magistrates Court.

It is believed Mr Traynor was detained in Garve near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands, where he had been running a hotel, campsite and restaurant called Inchbae Lodge with his wife. The property is close to the popular North Coast 500 route.

His location was reported to police by the owner of another Scottish hospitality venue, The Shore at Carronshore, near Falkirk, who managed to evict the Traynors last autumn after awarding them a tenancy then discovering their criminal record for licensing offences.

The couple’s tenure at The Punch Bowl saw the pub become the first licensed premises to be subjected to a closure order in the history of Craven Council’s enforcement activity. From the summer of 2022, the Traynors, who had never undertaken the training to hold a licence, were not allowed to serve alcohol and could only remain at the property to run their campsite and takeaway food service.

However, Harrogate Magistrates Court heard in January, in Mr Traynor’s absence, that North Yorkshire Police made two subsequent visits to the pub and found customers being served wine and beer while the building appeared to be shuttered.

The Traynors tried to claim the guests were friends, but most confirmed that they had never met the landlords before. The offences took place only weeks after they had both been convicted and fined for trading without a licence by the same court.

Mr Traynor has never had legal representation during any of the proceedings in Yorkshire and has opted to represent himself.

His January 2024 conviction carries a maximum sentence of three months in prison, prompting magistrates to adjourn the case for sentencing in the hope that Mr Traynor could be arrested and returned to court because of the prospect of a custodial term.