TRIBUTES have been paid to a former Lanark licensee who has died after a short illness.
Billy Ritchie, originally of Lanark, passed away at his Troon home on October 29.
His first pub, Flix, was followed by the Railway Inn in Bowling.
Ritchie then bought Lanark wholesaler Gavin Liddell and also a string of off-sales shops.
He and his wife Catrina later took early retirement and moved to Troon to raise their two sons.
Billy Kerr, area manager of Samuel Smith Brewery, said Ritchie was “well liked in the trade”. He added: “My thoughts are with his wife Catrina and his sons Graeme and Angus.”
