“Have a bit of this”: Cyclist camping overnight in field sprayed with slurry from tractor by “annoyed” farmer who wanted to teach a “lesson” to trespassing campers

A cyclist who was camping overnight at a field in Devon was sprayed with slurry for 15 seconds after a farmer who saw the cyclist's tent in his field got in his tractor to teach him “not to stay in anyone’s fields ever again”.

The incident, first reported by The Sun, was captured on video last week by Jack Bellamy, a third generation farmer from Tavistock, Devon with 200 cows and 650 sheep on his farm. 

Bellamy sees the black tent propped against the hedge and gets in his John Deere tractor, before saying: “I’ll tell you what, these *****, they’ll f****** set up anywhere. They do not give a flying f***. They’ll go anywhere.”

He starts driving towards him, blasting slurry out of his tractor, even stopping just past him to get the maximum amount of manure on the cyclist, who seems to be caught completely unaware and is seen ducking behind the tent to shelter himself from the wall of slurry being thrown at him.

“I’ll tell you what chap, have a bit of this,” Bellamy says, while driving past him and filming with a handheld device at the same time.

Moment farmer blasts camper in SLURRY after catching him sleeping in a tent on his land pic.twitter.com/IzIsafeLYv

— The Sun (@TheSun) June 21, 2024

> How to wild camp responsibly with OS Maps and Cycling UK

Bellamy later told The Sun: “I went out in the morning because I had to get on. When I looked in the field I saw a tent on the freshly cut grass. There was someone camped right up against the hedge.

“I left him covered in slurry. He never said a word — he couldn’t really argue with that. I’m sure he had a nice evening there, but he didn’t have a very nice wake up call.

“He must’ve heard the tractor coming because he was out of his tent. I said ‘You won’t be staying in anyone’s fields ever again’ and then I drove on and carried on with my morning.

“When my dad went back later the tent was gone, there was a white patch where the tent was and the slurry hadn’t been. I would hate to think what he smells like now.

“There is a campsite 400 yards in one direction and 600 yards in the other but they just please themselves these people. We’ve had people from towns walking in the fields.

“There is 50,000 acres of Dartmoor nearby and he chose to camp in my field. They come up from the towns and think they can do what they want. We’ve had loads of trouble with dogs worrying the sheep.

“They wouldn’t like it if I went camping in their garden. They’ve got no knowledge of the countryside at all. They come up from the towns and think they can do what they want. They probably think food grows on a plant or something.”

> Farming community divided over “arrogant, entitled” farmer spraying camping cyclist with slurry in “downright nasty” video

It would be important to point out that wild camping is illegal and a civil offence in England and Wales, with the exception of some parts of Dartmoor. Campers must get permission from the landowner to camp, which includes tents and motorhomes, or risk being charged with trespassing.

Anyone who refuses to move faces fines up to £2,500 if caught breaking the rules, although first time offenders are likely to be charged up to £300. You could even face a prison sentence of up to three months if you refuse to leave when requested to do so by police. Wild camping is legal in Scotland, however, as long as local guidelines are followed.

The reaction to the situation has been mixed, with many anti-cycling views and opinions running rampant on social media. However, farmers themselves have been quite divided about the whole incident, with many calling it a “horrible thing to do” and “pretty grim and quite sad behaviour from the tractor driver” on the Farming Forum.

Meanwhile, environmental lecturer and Right to Roam campaigner Lewis Winks has criticised the farmer’s actions and offered an insight into the cyclist’s perspective, who as of now remains unidentified: “Consider this – you’re on a bike tour, alone but free. Exhausted after many miles on the road, scouting spots to sleep before continuing the next day. After an hour you opt for a discreet field edge.

“You wake up early and begin packing up, then this happens. Truly unjustifiable.”

He added: “Firstly, trespass is a civil offence – despite the best efforts of the dying Tory government. It’s a matter between the landowner and the trespasser, provided there are no aggravating circumstances. Common assault, however, is a criminal offence.”

This dude was bike touring - camping in a discreet spot, rising early, packing up in the golden opening of the day.

And he was assaulted by someone who calls themselves a custodian of the land. pic.twitter.com/Iyc6QLnkQG

— Lewis Winks (@curiousways) June 22, 2024

> Why don't cyclists use the cycle lane? Because a farmer has dumped hundreds of tonnes of sugar beet in it

Winks then shared the Met Police’s stance on “camping without permission”, which recommends that landowners “talk to the people occupying your land and ask them to leave, if you feel safe to do that”, and reminds them that “you could find yourself guilty of several criminal offences if you forcibly attempt to remove them or their property.”

“Dialogue is the best course of action,” says Winks. “The rights of landowners are vast and sacrosanct in the UK – and far outweigh their legal responsibilities to people or nature. Including their own land which too often is also subject to abuse. Crying trespass distracts from the imbalance between rights and responsibilities.

“The rights of people – particularly those wishing to access land – on the other hand, are wildly lacking. Yet, we have a bedrock of historic and customary rights which have not entirely been swept away by property law. The civil attitude to trespass is in part an admission of this. Just west of where this incident took place is Dartmoor, where historic customs were written into bylaws in 1985, protecting wild camping; placing into stark contrast the farmer’s response.

“Secondly, on the notion of planning ‘better’,” he continued, “I’d wager that the majority of those with this view have never undertaken a long-distance expedition. If they had they'd realise that part of what it means ‘to plan’ is to prepare for the unexpected, to expect to change plans.

“I’d also bet that most of these detractors have not experienced wild camping and the feeling of freeing oneself from constraints of expensive, rigid, and scarce campsites in the UK. Elsewhere, such as in France, there are much better – more dependable networks of municipal campsites, but here it’s a nightmare trying to plan a trip based on private campgrounds which require booking ahead – and they’re often expensive and shite.

“Plus, of course, the sheer joy of waking up on your own with the golden light of a solstice sunrise, kettle on the boil, and on the road before the town wakes up, carefully leaving no trace of you being there. As for ‘you should have asked for permission’... just try finding out who owns the land in England while at a desk, let alone while on the road.

“And – to those who say ‘what about litter’. Our crisis is one of disconnection, it’s a lack of access to nature (not the opposite) which is unravelling our ability to know the land.”

> Opening stage of Etoile de Bessèges cancelled – due to protests from Jeremy Clarkson-idolising French farmers

Consider this: you're on a bike tour, alone but free. Exhausted after many miles on the road, scouting spots to sleep before continuing the next day. After an hour you opt for a discreet field edge.

You wake up early & begin packing up, then this happens.

Truly unjustifiable. https://t.co/qRqLRJZ1CL

— Lewis Winks (@curiousways) June 22, 2024

Winks concluded: “This dude was bike touring – camping in a discreet spot, rising early, packing up in the golden opening of the day. And he was assaulted by someone who calls themselves a custodian of the land.”

As unlikely as it may seem, this isn’t the first time cyclists and farmers have locked horns.

Two years ago, a foul-mouthed anti-cyclist rant went viral on a Facebook page, and has been regularly reshared on social media numerous times a year ever since.  i

The post says: “If I’m coming at you in a bloody great big tractor with 20 tons behind me on a single track road, do me and yourself a favour and STOP for one second, either move as far over to your side of the road or just step on to the verge if there is one, so I can pass safely, do not just continue at full speed and then piss and moan as you go past because if it goes wrong you’ll end up being pressure washed off a tractor wheel.

“Unfortunately for you we take all your space and we can’t help it, so unless you want to lend a hand either changing a tyre that’s blown out or shovelling up a spillage, then we’re not dropping our wheels into drainage grips so that you can continue your bicycle ride.

“Cars, horse riders and runners are capable of it, I seem to be missing something with cyclists, I presume either you don’t want to get your special bike dirty, you’re trying to beat your PB or more than likely you’re just a complete cock in general."

Even more worryingly, in 2021, a farmer attacked a cyclist by throwing a billhook at his bike following a road rage incident in which he became enraged because the man was not using a cycle lane. 

The cyclist shouted at the farmer in his VW Transporter that he had passed him too close, to which the farmer replied: “Well get on the cycle path then!”

He decided to follow the driver back to his nearby farm to ask him why he was so rude, when the farmer grabbed a billhook - which is used to trim tree saplings - and hurled it towards the cyclist, striking and damaging his £2,950 carbon framed Specialized Tarmac SL6 Sport Disc Road Bike.

Were you the cyclist involved in this incident? Email us at info [at] road.cc