Scots publican and wife fined for selling dodgy booze claim they are victims of racism

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Scots publican and his Malaysian-born wife who claim they are the victims of a racist vendetta have been fined for selling booze without a licence.Police officers confiscated 12 barrels of beer as well as bottles of gin and prosecco after a raid on Dougie Traynor's pub.

He and wife Shanti, 52, were ordered to close the Punch Bowl in the tiny North Yorkshire village of Low Bentham.They then became involved in a war of words with locals.Traynor, 72, who's originally from Dundee, claims villagers don't like him because he's Scottish and turned against his wife because she served up Malaysian food.But his allegations were dismissed by residents with one claiming the couple had "ruined" the pub and restaurant.The Traynors, who took over the business four years ago, were fined a total of £1,264 at Harrogate Magistrates Court last week.They were found guilty of three charges relating to the illegal sale of alcohol.Last summer the same court approved a request from Craven District Council for a closure order on the pub.The council said the order was granted because the pub continued to sell alcohol despite a notice warning that no licence was in place.Since then the couple have continued to run a campsite adjacent to the pub.Traynor, a former builder, denied knowingly operating the pub without a licence.He insisted that he had submitted an application to the council and believed he had "tacit consent" to sell alcohol while it was being processed.Traynor said the couple spent £30,000 on legal fees and at least £15,000 renovating the pub and restaurant.He accused villagers of spreading false stories about him and his wife, and dragging up her criminal past.Shanti was jailed for eight months at Perth Sheriff Court in 2013 after