Jeremy Clarkson has denied national reports he is at odds with West Oxfordshire District Council after saying he plans to build a pickleball court at Diddly Squat Farm.

Writing in The Sunday Times at the weekend, the star of Clarkson's Farm on Amazon Prime, said he was introduced to the sport recently after visiting a health farm.

Over the past year, pickleball has seen a meteoric rise in the UK due to an estimated 12,000 regular players and over 450 venues offering the sport across the country.

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And the former Top Gear host is now a fan describing the sport, which is a combination of tennis, badminton and table tennis, as “absolutely brilliant”.

He added: "I could not believe how quickly I picked it up. After 20 minutes I was smashing and slicing and volleying like a good 'un.

"It gets better, because while there is some running and jumping. You're only really covering an area the size of your kitchen.

"That's why I've decided to build a court at home.

Oxford Mail: Jeremy Clarkson at Diddly Squat Farm"As it's only a quarter the size of a tennis court and needs no netting, you'd assume planning permission would be unnecessary.

"And you'd be right. As long as you don't live in an area of outstanding natural beauty, which I do.

"And you aren't in west Oxfordshire, which I am. And your name doesn't begin with a 'J' and end with an 'eremy Clarkson'.

"I shall persevere, though, because what are the alternatives for the ageing chap who isn't quite ready to hit the wingback."

However, after national reports he is at "loggerheads" with the council, he took to X, formerly Twitter, to reveal he hasn’t applied for planning permission.

He posted: "To Mail Online. To be clear, I have not actually asked the council for planning permission to build a pickleball court.

“I’m merely speculating on what would happen if I did."

Pickleball was invented in 1965 as a children's backyard game in the United States, on Bainbridge Island in Washington. 

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The court is 44 feet long and 20 feet wide.

Mr Clarkson has been embroiled in a long-running dispute with planners over Diddly Squat Farm.

But in September he was granted permission on appeal to use it for the purposes of agriculture, a café, a farm shop, parking and lavatory facilities.

The award was subject to a series of conditions including the need to submit a site development scheme.

The development comes following reports that Amazon is in talks to renew Clarkson's Farm for a fourth season. 

This is despite rumours that Mr Clarkson would be axed from the streaming platform over comments he made about Meghan Markle in his column for The Sun. 

Season three of Clarkson's Farm is expected to come out next year.