Teenage staff at Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat farm are reportedly needing to wear body cameras to record abuse directed at them.
The Oxfordshire site has shot to fame on the back of Amazon Prime television series Clarkson’s Farm and includes a cafe.
But the former Top Gear presenter has angered some locals who have opposed extension plans and proposals for a larger car park to facilitate demand from an influx of visitors.
Diddly Squat lies between Chadlington and Chipping Norton in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty — and West Oxfordshire District Council has thought carefully about granting further permission. Previously, an effort to build a restaurant on-site was aborted.
MailOnline reported on Thursday that workers as young as 16 were needing to wear cameras after receiving “abuse”.
Villagers have been divided between those who appreciate the boost to a local economy and opponents irritated by a rise in traffic that has clogged local roads.
Staff member Annabel Gray reportedly told a Chadlington Parish Council meeting on Wednesday: “[Staff are needing to] wear body cameras as a precaution following abuse.”
She added: “Diddly Squat has an important opportunity to educate people about local farming and I find it really frustrating that the council is overlooking that.
“There are few places where you can experience where we get food from.
“Jeremy’s following do not have that great a knowledge about farming — I have had to explain to people that beef burgers come from a cow — and they travel long distances with the hope they might see him, but also to experience farming they have seen on TV.”
She spoke out after Chadlington resident Hilary Moore had complained that “motorheads” were driving slowly around the site to “show off their cars”.
Chadlington Parish Council chairman Andrew Hutchings said: “We have reached a tipping point between a farm shop and a tourist-type attraction for people who want to see the celebrity as well as the farm.
“The problem comes when you have too many visitors ... the traffic is a major issue to the community at large.
“When you have a site which has significant traffic problems and cannot deal with the number of visitors, should we be adding more services and features that enable more people to spend longer on the premises?
“It’s very hard to see the proposed car park dealing with that at peak times.”
The parish council has little power to make changes. However, it can make its feelings known to the overarching authority.
