Clarkson loses court battle

Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson to reopen public footpath he shut...

10:23 12 May 2010

Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson has lost a court case to stop walkers using a footpath around his holiday home on the Isle of Man.

The BBC presenter took action by closing off a section of the coastal path near his lighthouse property with an aim of protecting his privacy from onlookers.

Clarkson stated during the case that he was concerned that some ramblers were looking through his kitchen window and taking photographs.

However, his decision to restrict access on part of the path along the Langness peninsula in 2005 provoked immediate opposition from a pressure group, which resulted in a public inquiry.

It was argued that walkers had followed the legally sound footpath for generations without any trouble for at least 21 years, and that it was a part of the isle's heritage.

Lawyers for Clarkson countered there were no rights of access and that walkers had only been allowed by permission of the landowner.

Clarkson's wife, Frances, also testified that a small number of walkers were also abusive towards their family because of her husband's outspoken public profile.

She went on to say that they would consider selling the home if they lost the case.

The new rights of way do not include a concrete path near the lighthouse perimeter wall where the Clarksons stated that people were taking photographs.