A FARMER has been fined by the police after putting up a sign calling the nearby village a “lawless and godforsaken place”.

The sign was put up at Stone Arrow Farm by Carl Powell in response to councillors rejecting plans for a farm path on-site.

In the sign, which is on a silo, it says: “Welcome to Peopleton - a murderous, lawless, godforsaken place. Probably, most definitely, the nastiest place in Worcestershire.”

Having installed the sign, officers from West Mercia Police reportedly fined the 75 year-old £90 and ordered him to take it down.

Speaking to The Sun, he said he was not afraid of being arrested and that the villagers had, in his view, acted out of spite.

He said: “The people in this village will object to anything — it’s pathetic. They put their own self interest before anything.

"Several years ago I wanted to build some affordable housing on my land to help the less well-off but they petitioned to stop it.”

The plans were rejected by Wychavon councillors, whose planning rejection notice said he failed to demonstrate that the access track would be reasonably necessary for the purposes of agriculture within that unit.

One of the objections came from Peopleton Parish Council, with their response saying they did not believe the path was necessary and could lead to the site being neglected.

Their response said: “There are already at least three access points to the land in question; we do not consider another access point is necessary, especially as the volume of traffic on the current track from the village is small.

“The proposed track would be adjoining onto a 60 miles per hour highway where there are already concerns regarding speeding- hence slow-moving vehicles turning onto the road and increased traffic could prove a safety issue.

“The Parish Council have already been in contact with Police to conduct a speed survey on the highway and discuss concerns.

"With regards to usage, this field is not currently used for agricultural purposes and hasn?t been for many years.

“The Parish Council have issue with regards to functionality and if the track is not necessary whether it will just prove a visual intrusion on the landscape rather than an essential access route.

"Currently adjacent land is being used to store vehicles, trailers, machinery, rubble, and other material therefore the Parish Council are wary that an additional track could result in the same misuse of the field.”