A FARMER delayed the lifting of foot and mouth restrictions across Lancashire after declaring his land an independent republic in protest at the handling of the crisis.

Ribble Valley farmer Paul Kenny, 52, has been in dispute with farming officials for several months, barring them from his dairy farm and delaying moves to lift the bans on moving animals.

The deadlock was broken yesterday when Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs officials accompanied by police were finally given access yesterday to test two lambs for signs of the virus.

But today the defiant farmer, of Standridge Farm, Slaidburn, said he would refuse to recognise the British government until it repaired the damage caused by its "incompetence."

He said he regarded any invasion of his land by officials "an act of war" after renaming his farm The Independent Republic of Kenny Land.

DEFRA said the farmer's stance had delayed the lifting of the D notice movement restrictions stretching from Clitheroe across north Lancashire for weeks.

The National Farmers Union criticised his actions but Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans said, even though nobody should disobey the law, the government should pay attention to the serious point he was making.

Although Mr Kenny's battle with various governments has been running for almost 20 years it has come to a head with DEFRA's insistence they be allowed to visit the farm to check two lambs for foot and mouth.

DEFRA were faced with the prospect of taking legal advice to get on the land before Mr Kenny relented and officials were accompanied by the police to make sure the operation ran smoothly.

Mr Kenny said: "I am tired of being told what to do and someone needs to make a stand.

"I was forced to let these officials on to my own land against my wishes which should not have been allowed."

Mr Kenny said he had written to Tony Blair giving up his British citizenship and declaring his farm a separate country.

In the letter to the Prime Minister Mr Kenny wrote: "I will not accept and acknowledge any authority from your Government until you stand up and repair the damage that you have caused through being inept and incompetent. I may join the UK again if you act sensibly."

Mr Kenny, who has farmed the land for 20 years, has written letters to three Prime Ministers since 1985 highlighting the plight of farmers and said his business lost £49,764 last year alone.

The farmer, who is married with three children, said: "Farmers are being told what to do by people who have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. These people from the Government should come here and see what real life is all about."

Ian Hamilton, a spokesman for DEFRA, said: "We have been in negotiations with this farmer regarding the blood-testing of his animals and those negotiations continued until yesterday morning when the police accompanied DEFRA vets to test the lambs.

"His decision not to allow us access to the animals to carry out tests created administration problems and delayed the procedure to lift Form D restrictions in an area stretching from Clitheroe to the North Lancashire border for weeks, although we don't know the exact amount of time."

Inspector Bob Ford, of Clitheroe Police, said: "We went to the farm with vets from DEFRA to prevent a breach of the peace.

He said: "We were at the farm for about two hours to make sure the blood tests were carried out objectively."

Colin Metcalfe, NFU assistant group secretary for the Clitheroe Branch, said: "Mr Kenny has not helped other farmers in the area because his actions have slowed the process of lifting the Form D Restriction notice. When the restriction is lifted it will eventually allow farmers to move their stock, giving them more freedom to trade with other farmers in Lancashire.

"DEFRA can now get on with testing the rest of the animals in the area, so that farmers can get back to some sort of normality."

Ribble Valley Tory Nigel Evans said: "Paul should obey the law of the land but the government must pay attention to the serious point he is making.

"The average farmer's income is now £2,500 a year, well below the minimum wage"

Mike Corrigan, of Farleys Solicitors, said: "People are not allowed to claim that their land is an independent state.

"The farmer still has to abide by the same rules and laws that everybody else has to living in this country."