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Jeremy Clarkson angers villagers with farm plans

Jeremy Clarkson was harangued by angry locals after calling a meeting to explain plans for his Oxfordshire farm on Thursday.

The Grand Tour star called the meeting at Memorial Hall in Chadlington, Oxfordshire to discuss his plans for the property - which has become a popular attraction after his efforts to run it became the subject of his Amazon Prime series Clarkson's Farm.

Clarkson claimed he was greeted by someone giving him the finger as he headed into the hall.

Revealing his reasons for holding the meeting, the broadcaster said: "Gossip spreads in villages and they don't know what we're doing so I thought, the best thing I can do is come down and say, 'This is what we're doing,' and then it isn't gossip anymore. Someone gave me the finger on the way in."

His Diddly Squat Farm Shop has attracted huge crowds due to the show's popularity, with police officers called to manage traffic in June.

Around 80 local people were allowed into the meeting, where they quizzed him on his plans and outlined their complaints.

According to The Sun, one furious villager said: "The thing is Mr Clarkson, you are not a farmer. You are a media personality and farming to you is a sideline. But this is our village and we have to live with the consequences."

Maggie Jackson, a business manager, suggested Clarkson should temporarily shut his farm - as it has become a site for "petrolheads".

"There are people driving onto that farm after 9am and driving around. It has become a petrolhead destination, and he is well aware of it," she said. "He has one simple power, which is to shut it temporarily until he can get it under control."

The former Top Gear star bought the farm in 2008. It was run by a villager until he retired in 2019, when the TV presenter took over with a team of staff who are the subject of the hit Amazon series.

Clarkson submitted a Building Control Application to convert a lambing shed into a cafe to "sell alcohol and provide entertainment", and earlier this year, was handed permission to sell alcohol between 9am and 11pm on the premises.