THE GRAND DETOUR
Clarkson and pals spark village fury by shutting roads
TV bosses shut off an entire village to film The Grand Tour without warning residents.
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, who present the Amazon motoring show, descended on sleepy Farnley Tyas, near Huddersfield, West Yorks.
Roads were then closed for the next two days so filming could take place in secret – forcing residents to make a 10-mile detour to drive from one side of the village to the other.
During the disruption, the ex-Top Gear stars were seen driving a Toyota Hilux fitted with a jet engine and adapted to look like a boat.
Charles Rapley, 73, unable to get to his stable 200 yards away, said “It was chaos. It disrupted my business and caused a lot of people expense.”
A spokesman for the show, made by Chump Productions, said filming was not advertised “for safety reasons”. He said: “With respect we would hardly say we caused chaos.
“We had marshals holding traffic for short periods. We are very sorry if any resident was delayed.”
Kirklees Council, which approved the closure, said the TV firm was responsible for traffic management.