A ROW between Madonna and ramblers trying to use footpaths across her £9m estate, near Salisbury, is to be settled by a public inquiry.

Last summer, the Countryside Agency agreed walkers would be denied access to approximately 15 acres of the estate, owned by the singer and her film director husband Guy Ritchie, near Ashmore, to stop them getting within 100 yards of their home.

The agency said paths across the estate were not included on maps, as they did not meet open access criteria.

The agency said Madonna had used an appeal process available to any landowner.

However, ramblers were left furious at the decision. They asked the Countryside Agency to reconsider its position and start encouraging people back to the countryside.

A spokeswoman for the planning inspectorate said this week: "There will be a public inquiry, but a date has not yet been set."

Since buying Ashcombe House in Wiltshire, a former home of society photographer Cecil Beaton, Madonna has fought hard to protect her privacy and that of her husband and two young children.

She has complained about low-flying aircraft over the property.

Madonna has also suffered an attempted burglary.

She was ordered to take down new security gates, which were more than three-and-a-half metres high, after failing to apply for planning permission.