DETERMINED Winchester campaigners are stepping up their battle to reclaim countryside they have used freely for decades.

Scores of residents have banded together after barbed wire and keep out signs were erected at Bushfield Camp.

The land has been made a no-go area because the tenant farmer on the site wants to graze his cattle there.

The residents are now appealing to city MP Mark Oaten to apply pressure on the county council so they can continue to walk on the land.

Together they have fired off an 80-signature letter in the hope of reaching a compromise over the land.

John Leonard, chief co-ordinator of Bushfield ROW (Rights of Way), said: "We have prepared a letter to the farmer to try to make him realise we're not against him but that we are trying to reach a compromise.

"We see no reason why he shouldn't graze cattle in the area but we also see no reason why humans and cattle can't mix."

The campaigners know the county council could take several years to consider their application, so Mr Leonard is keen to try to speed up the process.

"We're not happy to be kept waiting for years and we want to get the county council to move faster."

In a bid to achieve this, the group is sending an open letter signed by more than 80 people to Winchester MP Mark Oaten asking him to apply pressure on the county council.

The latest moves follow a well-attended protest meeting last Saturday at nearby Whiteshute Ridge.

Feelings have been running high and the barbed wire fencing has been slashed several times.

The former military base is now owned by the Church Commissioners, who want to develop it for housing or retail use.