Farmer who blocked footpath pays 4000

17 September 1997

Farmer who blocked footpath pays £4000

THE Ramblers Association won its case at St Edmundsbury magistrates, at Bury St Edmunds, in Suffolk, against John Gooderham, of Red House Farm,
Gislingham. He blocked a right of way for ramblers with barbed wire and
tons of manure.

He was fined £500 and ordered to pay costs of £3500.

Gooderham breeds cattle and grows crops. He claimed a fine would hurt him financially because his farm was running at a loss due to the BSE crisis and a drop in corn prices.

The Ramblers Association said the arable areas of eastern England were the most notorious for footpath obstructions caused by farmers.

• The Times 17/09/97 page 10
  
• The Independent 17/09/97 page 4