A frustrated farmer has lost his battle to stop golf balls flying on to his land.

Hubert East, of Corner Farm, has been fighting for four years to have the 14th and 15th greens at Kirtlington Golf Club moved because of stray balls.

Cherwell District Council decided to take enforcement action, saying the greens were not in the locations agreed by its planners in 1995.

However, the club appealed, and, following an inquiry last month, a planning inspector has ruled in its favour.

The golf club had faced the prospect of spending up to £30,000 relocating the greens. Since the course opened, Mr East has picked up about 1,300 golf balls. He fears someone could get hurt or even killed.

He said the decision would mean more balls landing on his land.

"We are now in exactly the same position as before. Golf balls fly on to my land all year round and, as expected, I'm not very happy with the decision," he added. Bob Duxbury, the council's south area planning officer, said he was disappointed with the appeal decision.

He said: "Put simply I think the inspector has not appreciated the alleged dangers of the golf balls landing in Mr East's fields.

The golf club said it was pleased with the outcome but was not prepared to comment further.

Story date: Friday 24 December

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