A TENANT farming couple evicted by Swindon Council from the land they have worked since 1991 were scheduled to hand in their keys today.

The council took Brian, 51, and Lynne Simpson, 48, to Swindon County Court in October, and secured an eviction order from Ridgeway Farm, near Barbury Castle.

In doing so it went against the wishes of more than 600 people who signed a petition calling for the couple to be allowed to stay.

They also ran a caf near the castle until they closed it for the last time at the weekend.

The council claims that the two do not fit in with plans it has to redevelop the area as a more significant tourist attraction, although it has never said precisely what changes it plans to make.

Mr and Mrs Simpson, along with their daughter Carolyn, 17, are staying in rented accommodation in Wootton Bassett, while their herd of cattle is quartered on land the couple rent at Southleaze.

Mrs Simpson said: "I'm very sad and very angry, because we have been here for a long time and the farm has been a big part of our lives. I look at what has happened to us and I feel that we are not in this position because of anything we have done wrong.

"We are in this position simply because Swindon Council changed its mind on how it wanted to run this site.

"They have never answered the question of why they are doing what they are doing."