A furious farmer who showered hundreds of campers with smelly fertiliser after they set up on his field in France has defended his actions.
Fifth-generation dairy farmer Pierre Richard says he was forced to spray liquid manure on the campers after police allegedly refused to take action to clear the illegal settlement.
Up to 250 caravans, thought to be from the traveller community heading to a religious festival, arrived on a field near the village of Le Syndicat in the Vosges region in northeastern France owned by Pierre and his family, reportedly without permission.
The farmer, 37, claimed that the people had refused to set up at an empty travellers site nearby and instead had ‘broken through the barriers and set up camp, hundreds of them.’
He told the Daily Mail: ‘They preferred to stay here on my land. It’s a beautiful place, in the mountains, next to a river, and with fresh green grass.
‘They arrived at about 8pm on a Sunday night. When I heard they were there I went down there, but it was too late.
‘They had broken through the barriers and set up camp, hundreds of them.
‘The following day I went to the police, but they said there was nothing they could do.’
Two days after the campers broke entry, Pierre decided to take matters into his own hands and spray the area ‘to make sure no more of them would come.’
It is not known whether the man tried to speak to any of the squatters before the clash on July 8.
Dramatic footage shows the moment Pierre and his team approach the campsite, with Pierre insisting they stayed ‘a minimum of 10 metres from the caravans.’
He said the campers ‘chased us and attacked us in our cabs,’ claiming that they broke one of his wing mirrors during the clash.
In France, communities with more than 5,000 residents must provide a traveller site, and there was a dedicated site in the area.
However, the squatters insisted that the nearby site was too small for their 250-caravan convoy, according to local reports.
Frustrated Pierre added: ‘They preferred to stay here on my land. It’s a beautiful place, in the mountains, next to a river, and with fresh green grass.’
He defended his actions, saying if they hadn’t sprayed the field, more caravans might have turned up, putting the grass he uses to feed cattle at risk.
‘Not only do they ruin the grass, they ruin the land and the river,’ he said.
‘Their cars and caravans flatten the earth and make it harder for the grass to grow.’
He said he now fears retaliation from the group.
Pascal Claude, the mayor of Syndicat, commented on the clash: ‘They had no right to set up camp there, but they forced the barrier at the entrance of the land. The farmers and I are totally against this.
‘Not only did they set up camp on a protected natural land, it is also a protected water source.’
A representative for the campers told a court when an eviction order was being discussed that the group had asked the council to provide a site for them, but their request was ignored.
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