TRANSPORT bosses in London are all in a fluster over their famous sign – the barred roundel – being used to tempt people to get a taste of the capital in the Yorkshire Dales.

Nick Osborn has been rapped for using it to lure people into his Skipton Pie and Mash Shop, off Skipton canal basin... more than 200 miles from the Big Smoke!

London Mayor Boris Johnson's outfit demand he removes his PIE STOP sign because it infringes their intellectual property.

Nick, a born Londoner, brought the traditional taste of his home city to Skipton about four years ago, and the distinctive sign has been up ever since.

Now, Simon Faircliff, of Transport for London (TfL), has told him in a letter: "The TfL roundel is, in fact, a registered trade mark and, as such, should not be used without the permission of TfL."

TfL was alerted to the sign when they received a photograph of Nick's shop showing the 'offending' logo.

"I couldn't believe it when I got the letter. I think the people who sent the photograph were being vindictive," said Nick.

"I'm amazed Transport for London could be bothered with a pie shop tucked away in the north. I don't think we're going to see any London buses stopping here or are they to run tubes to Skipton?!"

"They're being petty. I would think they'd have seen the positive side of it," added Nick, who received the letter dated November 3 demanding he remove the sign... by 5pm on September 14 2015!

"How could I do that? I didn't get the letter until November."

Nick is determined to keep the sign and plans to alter it by turning the central bar into an arrow directing people to his shop. "That won't be their sign anymore or their intellectual property," he added.

A TfL spokesperson said: “The roundel is a trademark and, as a valuable asset, it is important that we protect it.

"We have written to Skipton Pie and Mash Shop to ask them to stop using the roundel and we are happy to speak with them further to resolve this matter.”

lWhat do you think? We welcome letters on this or any other subject. E-mail richard.parker@nqyne.co.uk or write to the Content Editor, Craven Herald, 38 High Street, Skipton BD23 1JU. Please include your full name, address and daytime telephone number.