Farmer slapped with 'anti-harassment injunction' due to bitter road dispute with neighbours

A farmer has been served an anti-harassment injunction due to a series of bizarre actions against his neighbours in a right of way dispute.

Peter Robinson, 57, insisted on driving his tractor at a snail's pace along a track leading up to his farm in Lanchester, County Durham.

He installed speed bumps as part of an attempt to make life as ‘inconvenient as possible’ for neighbours, a judge said.

The neighbours are Peter and Gwendoline Bramwell, who run an equestrian centre at the end of the road in Lanchester.

They reportedly suffered "anxiety and distress" as customers of their equestrian centre were accosted by Mr Robinson.

The farmer was alleged to have ‘jumped out’ at visitors as they drove along the track, accusing them of speeding and asking them their business.

But the farmer accused them of trespassing and making “excessive use” of the right of way.

He claims traffic has risen significantly since the Bramwells expanded their equestrian business.

The bizarre dispute had gone on for four years before it finally went to court.

The court hit the farmer with an anti-harassment injunction and ordered him to pay the Bramwells £4,800.

The judge said: "It is plain that relations between these two families have sunk to such a low ebb that each side is prepared to assert that the other has made threats against them and that they are frightened to walk on the lane unaccompanied."