It was when people were bringing a change of shoes to walk home that a couple running an acclaimed restaurant in North Yorkshire thought: “Actually, why don’t we give you a lift?” But the arrangement, loved by customers, has fallen foul of the council, which has informed Ruth Hansom and her husband, Mark, that were in breach of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976. “I got a call at the back end of last year saying what we’re doing is illegal, which obviously … I was like, oh my God,” Ruth told the Guardian. “We thought we were doing everything right. We weren’t charging for it.” Ruth Hansom, who grew up in Darlington, trained and worked at the Ritz in London for five years. In 2017, she was the first female winner of Young National Chef of the Year. She has appeared on James Martin’s Saturday Morning food programme and won the regional heat of Great British Menu in 2020. She opened her restaurant, Hansom , in the market town of Bedale two and half years ago.…