Fundraiser to help tenant hill farmer cleared by court

An online fundraiser has been set up to help a Durham farmer meet costs associated with clearing his name – and raise vital funds for rural charities.

Tenant hill farmer Robert Hooper was cleared of criminal damage and dangerous driving at Durham Crown Court earlier this month.

The 57-year-old fourth generation farmer faced the charges after he used his telehandler to remove a Vauxhall Corsa, blocking the driveway at Brockersgill Farm, Newbiggin-in-Teesdale, on 5 June last year.

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Mr Hooper argued in court that an Englishman’s home is his castle and he claimed he was punched twice in the face before he used the telehandler to remove the car from a lane outside his farm.

His partner, Karen Henderson, has launched an appeal to raise money to cover some of the costs related to the court case, including paying extra staff while he was away. So far, more than £4,000 has been raised towards the target of £20,000.

Mr Hooper has expressed his gratitude for the “overwhelming support from the local community and people from afar which kept him going through the last eight months of hell”.

Charity appeal

He is now hoping to draw something positive from the experience and hopes that the crowdfunding appeal will also generate surplus money to fund projects that assist rural communities, in particular a local charity, Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Services (UTASS) and the national Farming Community Network (FCN).

Ms Henderson said: “Robert is very grateful for the dozens of messages of support from farmers and non-farmers he has received since he was cleared. He wants something good to come out of such a horrible experience.

“We would like to repay that support by raising as much money as possible for UTASS and farming charities. It will be transparent and very little of the money raised will go towards court costs.”

Donations can be made through Mr Hooper’s GoFundMe page.