Jeremy Clarkson admits struggle with farm shop success as visitors urinate on his driveway
Jeremy Clarkson has revealed that visitors to his farm shop urinate on his driveway, as he admitted he is struggling to manage the success of his farming venture.
The 61-year-old former Top Gear presenter bought the country estate in Chadlington, Oxfordshire, in 2008 and this year shone a spotlight on it in his Amazon Prime show Clarkson's Farm.
As a result, his Diddly Squat Farm Shop has been overrun with fans.
Clarkson held a meeting for local residents – serving wine and cheese – at the village's Memorial Hall to explain his plans to manage the popularity of the farm with visitors.
Read more: Jeremy Clarkson admits his farming attempts have been an 'expensive failure'
According to the Oxford Mail, the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire host told worried locals: "You have my complete sympathy. I am just as keen as you are to try to manage the situation.
"I have people peeing on my drive. Look, I hope that now the school holidays are over and the pandemic is, hopefully, easing, there will be less.”
When asked if he would support a 20 mph speed limit being imposed in the area to deal with an excess of traffic, Clarkson said: "In all conscience I can't do that, having spent much of my life complaining about such things.
“I can't be held responsible for what people do when they leave my shop. I already have a sign urging people to drive slowly, I will put up a bigger one."
The Grand Tour presenter admitted he had been overwhelmed by the volume of visitors to the area, but insisted he would continue with plans to run the farm as a profitable business.
He said: "We were overwhelmed by what happened after the show launched. We had no idea of the impact it would have. Now we can stop and think about how we can continue to employ 15 people on the farm and making it grow while not spoiling anyone's life in the village."
Clarkson is now reported to be planning an 150-seat cafe on the site.
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He is quoted as saying: “Some will go for glamping, some will go for stock car racing. We have to make the business pay. We have to sell everything on the farm otherwise the farm goes out of business."
Watch: Jeremy Clarkson on the reaction to his show Clarkson's Farm