Two farmers from The Cotswolds are fined (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Two farmers from The Cotswolds are fined

A BOURTON-on-the-Water farmer prosecuted for obstructing public footpaths has apologised for the offences, which happened while he was busy raising thousands of pounds for charity.

At Cheltenham Magistrates Court, Martin MacCurrach received a two-year conditional discharge and was ordered to pay prosecution costs of £703.60 after admitting six offences of obstructing footpaths with crops on his 500 acres at Tagmoor Farm.

After receiving complaints from the public, Gloucestershire County Council officers visited the farm and discovered bean and oil seed rape crops obstructing two sections of the Monarchs Way, with the bean plants being up to seven foot, six inches tall.

Oil seed rape obstructed two other footpaths for about 700 metres.

Mark Parker, county council public rights of way unit manager, said: "Crop obstruction of public footpaths is unfortunately all too prevalent."

Mr MacCurrach said he had been too busy to notice the obstructions because he was doing an earth science Open University degree while preparing to climb Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro to raise sponsorship money for a charity that revamps schools in the African country.

He and 13 other people completed the sponsored climb in October, with Mr MacCurrach raising about £4,000 of the £45,000 the group generated for the Katie Allen Village Education Project - Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, which will spend the money on creating a school computer room.

Mr MacCurrach said: "I'm very sorry that I've upset everybody."

In a separate case, farmer Tim Unwin of Dowmans Farm, Coberley pleaded guilty to three offences of crop obstruction of footpaths and was fined a total of 900 pounds and ordered to pay prosecution costs of 613.92 pounds.

The magistrates were told that complaints had been received about the condition of the rights of way since 1999.

Following complaints from members of the public county council officers inspected the footpaths on Mr Unwin's land and found two footpaths were obstructed by cereal crops and a part of the Gloucestershire Way was obstructed by oil seed rape.