Meet the married Yorkshire duo who gave up decade long careers to repay their father's kindness and take over the family firm

Two years on, Kenneth Howley Transport is now eyeing growth, with its sights set on a bigger facility to house its 57 employees.

“We’re a small family-run haulage company that has been operating since 1985,” said Arthur, who is now managing director of the firm.

“In that time, we’ve gone from a start-up with one or two wagons to having 31 wagons on the road every day.

“We’re not one of the big boys, we’re not Eddie Stobart or anybody like that, but we’ve carved ourselves a nice niche in the market.”

Gaynor and Arthur in part took the decision to look after the firm after Gaynor’s father supported them through a difficult period for the family.

Arthur said: “Our son Henry - he's very well now - but he was diagnosed with leukaemia on his second birthday.

“He underwent around three and a half years of intense treatment, and during that time Kenneth supported us both financially and emotionally.

“And now he is at the time of his life when he doesn't want the hassle and the stress of work, so we felt very strongly about giving something back.

“This company supported us through those hard times indirectly, so I think we’re both at a point in our lives where we want to continue the family business for the next generation and give something back to it.”

Gaynor and Arthur’s involvement in the company also followed the tragic loss of Gaynor’s sister.

Gaynor, who now acts as customer care director, said: “My sister used to work here in the accounts department and she sadly passed away three years ago now.

“I was coming to the end of my midwifery career, which I started in 1998, and I just felt like I had done my bit and it was time for something different.

“So I took on the role in the accounts department just as Arthur joined the company, and we worked our way up to where we are now.”

Although their eventual taking control of the company had been considered, both Gaynor and Arthur noted that they wanted to start lower down in the firm and build their way up to gain a better understanding of how the business works.

To do so, Arthur left a more than decade long career in the aviation industry.

Both Gaynor and Arthur noted that though they had never intended to work for the firm, their lives had changed for the better since joining.

“I always said I would never work for my father, and that my husband would never work for my father,” said Gaynor.

“My two sisters worked here, my niece worked here, my uncles all worked here, and I always said ‘never, ever’, but look at us now.

“We’ve got a much better work life balance. We both worked very unsocial hours including weekends, Christmas, bank holidays, and now that's completely changed.

“We have two boys, Henry who is 13 and Edward who is 10, and we can drop them at school in the morning, come to work, then have evenings together, eat meals together, and have nice weekends.

“It's changed our lives, and it's changed our children's lives, and it's changed my dads life.”