Owners of a Baildon take-away say the joy has gone from their Happy House business after another take-away with the same name opened just down the road.

The couple who own the restaurant, which they say is now an “unhappy house”, in Otley Road, say confusion caused to customers by the newly-named restaurant opening just two miles from them is having a negative effect on their business.

Steven Lee, who has owned the Baildon take-away with his wife, Yun, for 13 years, said: “We have been having confusion with the other Happy House.

“We have been here so long and we have built up a good reputation but now the customers will just be getting confused.

“We don’t like it at all.”

He said customers had arrived at his business to collect food ordered from the other Happy House or ordered from the other restaurant when they meant to order from the Otley Road restaurant.

Although he did not register the name Happy House as a trade mark – which would have afforded him more protection of the name – he said he felt the other shop should make changes.

“The most annoying thing is the confusion,” he said: “We want them to change their name. When we opened it, my wife said let’s hope everyone will see it and be happy.

“But this is making it an unhappy house.”

The other restaurant, in Crag Road, Shipley, changed its name to Happy House shortly before Christmas.

The manager of the Crag Road take-away, who gave her name as Tracey, said: “We changed owner just before Christmas so we changed the name.

“There is a Happy House in Baildon which already existed but we didn’t know that.

“I don’t think we would change the name again. We have just printed the menu and we didn’t mean to do this.”

In the UK there are 328 Chinese take-away restaurants with the name Happy House.