Caravan park owner hit by loss of Facebook page

James Wright said the business had hundreds of reviews on its Facebook page

A caravan park owner lost a "vitally important" part of his trade after the site's Facebook page was shut down without warning, he has said.

Black Bull Caravan Park in Pickering, North Yorkshire, has been operating for more than 25 years and used the social media platform to keep in touch with customers.

However, about two months ago, owner James Wright noticed the business's Facebook page had disappeared and a message said this was due to a "trademark infringement".

Mr Wright said he had been "left in the dark" despite efforts to contact Meta, which is Facebook's parent company. Meta has been contacted for comment.

Mr Wright said he believed there had been a "national issue" which had seen Facebook remove a number of pages with the name Black Bull.

The site is not the only business named Black Bull that has been affected, as an unrelated pub in Lincolnshire with a similar name faced the same problem.

Mr Wright said he had appealed against the loss of the firm's Facebook page

Mr Wright said it was the business's "only social channel".

"It’s got hundreds of reviews, nearly 6,000 likes and a lot of people use the page for booking enquiries and general questions about us as a business," he said.

He added that the firm had been posting on its page for 10 years and it was a "critical part" of his trade.

Mr Wright's efforts to get the page back had so far been unsuccessful but he said he had filled out an online appeal form.

"They were supposed to come back to me within 48 hours but I’ve not heard anything since. I’ve been left in the dark really," he said.

Mr Wright said he noticed that the site's Facebook page had been removed about two months ago

Previously, Julie and Lee Loach, who run the Black Bull in Donington in Lincolnshire, told the BBC their page had also been taken down.

They said the majority of bookings had been made on their Facebook page and its disappearance meant the existing reservations had been lost.

The couple described their experience as a "travesty", but added that their page had returned in October, leaving Mrs Loach "overjoyed".

She said she believed the page was closed in an AI sweep and credited the media attention for it being restored.

Mr Wright said he hoped he would have a similar experience with his page.

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