DOG walkers in Wimborne are fuming after a private landowner fenced off his fields to stop them accessing their favourite walk.

After years of walking on fields at the back of The Vineries they have been threatened with legal action if they trespass. Barbed wire now surrounds the land and signs have been erected warning them to keep off.

That means they can't even walk the few metres on the land, which is owned by Capital Developments and Construction, to access neighbouring fields owned by East Dorset District Council - instead they will have to take a long route round.

Jo Burn, who lives in a neighbouring street, said: "One reason we moved here was because it is so nice and quiet and we can walk the dogs.

"Many of the people here are elderly and this is the only area of countryside they can access. They don't have cars and can't drive to another site up the road. Residents here are very angry about what the company have done.

"We are concerned they may be thinking about developing the land and don't want us to establish a right of way before then."

And she criticised the National Trust for selling the land on in the first place.

David Jenkins of the National Trust said they sold the land four years ago to create an endowment for the Kingston Lacy estate.

He said it was designated greenbelt land and he didn't think there were any official rights of way through it.

Some residents claim to have walked on the land for the past 40 years and others have routinely used it to access facilities such as a scout hut in the residential area opposite. But others say they're fed up with dog walkers driving in from outside areas and clogging up the roads with their cars.

On Wednesday a spokesman from Capital Development and Construction addressed the dog walkers. He promised to look into the possibility of opening up a very small area of land so the walkers could access neighbouring public fields.

He told the Daily Echo the company was considering numerous possibilities for the land including farming and a housing development. He said the land was private and the company had the right to restrict access and he added that keep out signs had been erected in the past but ignored.

He added: "The company has to act to protect its assets and interests. We don't want to be in a position where our options are limited in the future."

And he said concerns raised by residents that drug users were gathering on the land raised serious health and safety concerns and was further justification for restricting access.

The new signs have been the subject of some criminal damage and police have issued a warning that those responsible could be prosecuted.

Dog walkers who gathered on Wednesday deplored whoever was responsible and said the damage was nothing to do with them.

First published: October 15