A FARMER from Codford, angered by the imminent ban on hunting, has stopped soldiers from training on his land.

Josh Stratton has told the ministry of defence it can no longer use his 3,500 acres, in protest at the proposed Hunting Bill.

He is one of ten landowners, all farming on Salisbury Plain, who are abandoning a gentleman's agreement that has allowed troops to train on their land.

But Mr Stratton has made it clear that their protest is not aimed at the military but at the government and its plan to ban hunting.

"We have no problem with the military," said Mr Stratton (36).

"The army are good neighbours and we have never had a problem with them.

"What we do have a problem with is the government.

"The hunting bill is all about class prejudice - it has nothing to do with animal welfare."

Mr Stratton now wants the military to explain to their superiors why they have been banned from using the land - some 30,000 acres in total.

"What we want the military to do is put pressure on the cabinet to license hunting, instead of banning it outright," he said.

"They might listen to them - they certainly don't listen to us."

The MoD owns nearly 100,000 acres of Salisbury Plain.

In a statement, it said: "We are aware that there are farmers who, because of the decision to ban hunting, may choose to withdraw the use of their land.

"There will be some impact on army training but options to mitigate this are being considered."

The Hunting Bill is currently with the House of Lords, which is expected to back a compromise to allow some licensed hunts

MPs have already overwhelmingly backed a ban and they could use the Parliament Act to force the measure on to the statute books when it returns to the House of Commons next month.