Angry farmer puts up billboard describing his village as a 'murderous, lawless and godforsaken place' after neighbours objected to his plans for a new path on his land

• Carl Powell, 75, was fined £90 for the sign but is still refusing to take it down 
• The farmer put it up after neighbours complained about a new track at his farm 
• He said refusal came after they previously complained about bid to build homes
• Do you live in Peopleton? Email martin.robinson@mailonline.co.uk or tips@dailymail.com 

 A furious farmer has said he would rather be arrested than take down a billboard slamming his village as the 'nastiest in Worcestershire' despite a £90 fine from police and threats of being taken to court.

Carl Powell, 75, put the sign up on an old grain dryer and described his village of Peopleton, 10 miles from Worcester, as a 'murderous, lawless, godforsaken place'. 

Mr Powell has accused villagers of putting 'their own self interest before anything' after a series of planning rows - but police say that it causes 'harassment, alarm or distress' to village

He was already angry with the community of Peopleton after neighbours previously objected to his plans to build eight new affordable homes on his land.

And he then put up the sign 15ft up on one of his grain dryer after villagers refused to approve his plans to put a new track allowing better access to his 100 acre farm.  

He was fined £90 for the sign in February after residents reported him to the police but he has refused to take it down and is willing to face further police action.  He said: 'If I'm going to be arrested for telling the truth, bring it on. I've nothing to hide.'  

Locals have hit back, insisting Peopleton is a wonderful place to live.

Parish council chairman Tim Mason said: 'It's a lovely village to live in - the only bit that isn't is around his sign. We want the police to remove it, he's refusing so they want to take him to court'.

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Carl Powell, 75, put the sign up criticising the village of Peopleton in Worcestershire on an old grain dryer

While Mr Powell is clear why he believes Peopleton is a 'lawless, godforsaken place', it is not yet clear why he has branded it 'murderous'. However in January it was revealed that that some cats in the village were left seriously ill or even died after someone left out rat poison for them to eat. 

Mr Powell described the complaints to parish councillors from villagers against hisnew track as the last straw. It is not clear who he asked to make the sign for him.He told the Sun: 'The people in this village will object to anything — it's pathetic. They put their own self interest before anything.

'Several years ago I wanted to build some affordable housing on my land to help the less well-off but they petitioned to stop it.'

Police fined Mr Powell £90 after ruling that the sign was likely to cause 'harassment, alarm or distress. 

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Mr Powell was fined £90 for the sign after residents (pictured is the church in Peopleton) reported him to the police but has refused to take it down

However, the farmer wasn't cowed by the fine and is challenging it. 

Mr Powell also insisted he would not be pulling the billboard down despite the anger of his neighbours, many of whom had already opposed his latest planning application.

Some used the consultation to accuse him of starting work before getting permission.

One said: 'The work has already been started by the Applicant, without prior permission, and no planning notice has been seen at the location. It has not been shown that the development is reasonably necessary for the purposes of agriculture, when existing farm tracks already provide amply adequate access at 3 separate points. Therefore there is no agricultural justification for the track and permission should therefore be refused'.

Another critic wrote: 'Work has already started and is an obvious intrusion on to 'farm land'. Unnecessary for farming but very useful 'access' for future planning applications. 

A third person who opposed his application said: 'There is no need for this track - the applicant already has 3 tracks in and out of his land; it is unnecessary. 

'It is likely the Applicant is using this as a stepping stone to gain an additional road access point to his land to make its saleability more attractive to any potential purchaser; he is already advertising it for sale on a 'promotion only' basis.'.

The neighbour added: 'The point where the proposed track is to join the public highway is a 60 mph zone and is close to a 90 degree right hand bend; this would be a dangerous access point and would create a potential hazard to highway users'.