EVERYBODY likes to feel they’re getting value for money, and when firms fall short of what we have a right to expect it’s only fair to look towards trading standards officers to set matters straight.

But in North Yorkshire, the landlady of The Fleece in Northallerton has been taken to court for serving a beer that was six teaspoons short of a full pint. She was cleared.

Spectator has been told the incident that sparked the county council's investigation was unrelated to the contents of the glass. A number of witnesses said the complaining couple had appeared uncomfortable in the pub, known for its lively atmosphere while screening race meetings, and had never raised an issue with the amount of beer they were served.

While the motives of the couple in complaining remain unclear, North Yorkshire County Council’s decision to prosecute the licensee over falling 31ml short of the minimum guideline has genuinely shocked publicans across the town.

ON a very different note, we are all devoted to our mums and most of us would do whatever it takes to support them and those that care for them.

However walking 113 miles – without stopping – over 41 hours until it is literally impossible to continue is a display of love and dedication that is nothing short of remarkable.

But that’s exactly what brother and sister Ellie Bates and Neil Bridgstock did in aid of Herriot Hospice Homecare, which helps care for their mum Wendy at her home in Tunstall, near Catterick.

The pair had planned to walk a total of 127 miles – the length of the Liverpool-Leeds canal – but had to stop an agonizing 14 miles short when their bodies just “gave up”.

Spectator suspects most of us would have been forced to give up long before this intrepid pair – and tips his hat to them and their quite astonishing achievement.