A PROTEST has been organised on Dartmoor last Saturday after a court ruled in favour of a landowner for wild camping to be banned on the moor.

Pressure groups Right to Roam and The Stars are for Everyone say they are calling on on the spirit of Old Crockern - ancient protector of the moor - to protect Dartmoor’s ancient rights.

The protest will take place on Saturday, January 21 at the war memorial in Cornwood near Ivybridge between 1.30 and 5pm.

This comes after the High Court last Friday judged in favour of abolishing the right to wild camp without permission on Dartmoor; the only place in England where it was legal.

The Dartmoor National Park Authority says it is considering what the judgment means - but the advice in the meantime is to get landowners' permission to wild camp on private land.

A spokesperson for the campaign said: 'Alexander Darwall, a multimillionaire estate owner in south Dartmoor has used his wealth and entitlement to remove our ancient right to connect with the land: all by contesting a byelaw from the 1980s which simply acknowledged the long established practice of sleeping under the stars. We say: absolutely not!

'We are calling on the spirit of Old Crockern, the ancient protector of the moor, to oppose this decision. Old Crockern represents the values that sit within our campaign and those that embody Dartmoor: inclusivity, freedom, growth, relationship and humanity.

'We call on the many generations of people who love Dartmoor; locals, visitors, campers, farmers, walkers, students, naturalists, land workers, fishers, climbers, swimmers, bikers, canoeists, stonewallers, hedge layers, spirits old and new, to join us in opposition.'

Campaign spokesperson Clare Coyne said: 'This peaceful gathering has been organised in response to a ruling on Friday 13th January in which the High Court judged in favour of abolishing the right to wild camp on Dartmoor; the only place in England where it was legal.

'Alexander Darwall, a multimillionaire estate owner in south Dartmoor, contested a byelaw from the 1980s which simply acknowledged the long-established practice of sleeping under the stars. This ancient right to connect with the land has now been removed and the event on Saturday 21st January is a peaceful response to this.'

See www.eventbrite.com/e/raise-old-crockern-to-defend-dartmoor-tickets-514716339427