PEACE has broken out following a virtual pillow fight between a North Yorkshire bed company and its Surrey-based rival

To Catch A Dream, the specialist retailer of high quality beds, bedsteads and bedroom furniture in Harrogate, has won a trademark dispute to prevent online customers being diverted from its official website to that of a rival.

To Catch A Dream and competitor company And So To Bed reached agreement through lawyers that resulted in the site being transferred to the Harrogate-based business. Both sides also agreed not to register any websites or trademarks similar to each other's names.

As reported in the Evening Press in June, the shop operated its on-line business through two websites, www.tocatchadream.net and www.tocatchadream.com

But managing director Terry Dixon was enraged that consumers logging on to www.tocatchadream.co.uk were being directed instead to the site of a rival business, And So To Bed.

Mr Dixon said: "We pride ourselves on being a family-run business with a high reputation for the quality of our products and the standard of our service. We didn't want to see this compromised in any way.

"The danger was that customers trying to get to our website were being directed to the site of this rival business and may have thought there was some link when there wasn't.

"It was leading to confusion and we definitely noticed a drop in the number of our online sales."

Mr Dixon added that since agreement was reached there had been a significant increase in the numbers of customers visiting the shop's website.

"We are enjoying a very successful period of trading and we are confident that removal of the confusion over the website is playing an important part in that.

"We are delighted the matter has now been resolved."

And So To Bed has its headquarters in Pyemore, Dorset, with an outlet in Crescent Road, Harrogate, about 200 yards from Mr Dixon's shop.

Andy Hills, its managing director, said: "This situation was ongoing and arose way before my time.

"We have now sold them back the website and recovered our costs.

"So now there is no confusion and we can both sleep peacefully!"

Updated: 11:22 Wednesday, November 24, 2004