The farmer who used a somewhat controversial method to get rid of travellers squatting on his land has spoken out to defend his actions.
Earlier this month, videos online quickly went viral as they showed a farm in France which had been taken over by hordes of travellers.
It was alleged that, despite having a dedicated space for travellers close by, the 250-caravan convoy had decided that it was too small and instead illegally squatted on the farmer's land in the Vosges region in northeastern France.
People living in your property or on your land is a more common problem than you might think, with one American man stunned to find that a £1.2 million house had been built on his land without his knowledge, while a Reverend in Luton returned to his home of 30 years to find someone inside redecorating.
Advert
While calling the police seems like the obvious option, it is often difficult for authorities to deal with squatters, and fifth-generation dairy farmer Pierre Richard opted to take matters into his own hands.
Thankfully, living on a farm, he didn't have to worry about ruining any carpets, and he instead decided to drive close to the travellers and spray liquid manure, or slurry, all over the field as a way of encouraging them to leave.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, he said: "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 8.00pm 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."
The travellers were unsurprisingly pretty upset when they realised what was happening, with the videos showing many of them running after the tractors, but there wasn't much they could do.
It's unclear whether or not Pierre had the chance to speak with the travelling group before opting to use the slurry.
While his methods were deemed controversial, he claimed that the squatters 'ruin the grass, ruin the land and the river'.
He added: "Their cars and caravans flatten the earth and make it harder for the grass to grow."
James Moorhouse