Clarkson joins battle for farmer ‘attacked’ by dog walker
Man is left bloodied after rock thrown at him in row about footpath on his land
JEREMY CLARKSON has called on police to make it their “number one priority” to catch a dog walker accused of attacking a farmer in a row over a footpath.
Christopher Pine, 70, said the alleged assailant hurled soil at his tractor on Saturday as he was working on his farm in Creech St Michael, near Taunton in Somerset, and warned him not to plough the footpath.
When Mr Pine explained that he had a right to work the land, the man threw a rock at his head and ran away. Photographs taken immediately after the attack showed blood pouring from a wound just above Mr Pine’s left ear that required hospital treatment.
The former Top Gear presenter, whose attempts to run a farm without previous experience have been filmed for the TV documentary Clarkson’s Farm, wrote on Twitter: “Dear the Police in Avon and Somerset. Please catch the dog walker who threw a rock at a farmer. It is your number one priority.”
Mr Pine’s wife, Jane, said: “Without any provocation or anything else, this walker threw dirt at him as he was driving past. So he stopped to ask ‘what’s the problem’ to find out why he’d done this.
“He was then told ‘don’t plough the footpath’, which, of course, he wasn’t – he does everything 100 per cent correctly.
“We rent the field so in a sense you’re even more careful with what you do.”
Mrs Pine added: “With that he picked up a rock, and there are rocks there the size of your hand, and threw it at my husband’s head. Then he ran off. He is 70, and [it was] purposefully thrown. If my husband had been looking 2in the other way he’d have had his eye out.”
Other residents have voiced their disgust online at the attack and sent Mr Pine their best wishes.
Mr Pine’s son has thanked them for their support and reassured them his father is “fine – just a few staples” after taking himself to A&E.
Clarkson has described his attempts to cultivate the 1,000 acres of land in Oxfordshire he has owned since 2008, as “like David Attenborough doing a programme on jet skiing”.
Avon and Somerset Police said in a statement: “We’re investigating after a rock was thrown at a man driving a tractor in a field in Creech St Michael. The incident happened at around 6pm on Saturday 7 May. The offender ran off after throwing the rock.
“House to house enquiries have been carried out and we’re appealing for anyone who witnessed the incident to contact us on 101 quoting reference 5222108016.”
The incident comes amid reports of an increase in rural crime. In June last year, a survey by the National Farmers Union found that 31 per cent of farmers had been victims of at least one crime, and had lost an average of £4,473 worth of equipment after thefts.
Nearly 60 per cent of farmers who responded to the survey said that crime in their area had increased during the previous 12 months.