NINE New Forest pony and cattle owners are to be taken to court tomorrow in a landmark case over non-payment of their fees.

The "Nine" who mainly keep their animals in the north of the Forest are being prosecuted by the verderers, who regulate the grazing rights.

It is believed to be part of a crackdown aimed at making sure that all the people who turn animals out on to the Forest pay their tail-marking fees.

When the fees have been paid and the round-up of the animals - known as drifts - have taken place, tails are docked to a pattern which indicates their particular area of the Forest.

Those fees go towards paying for the agisters, who are employed by the verderers to supervise the welfare of the animals and also deal with any stock which is taken ill or involved in road accidents.

The prosecutions have been brought under by-laws which were revised in 1999 but date back to the New Forest Act of 1877 which requires that animals should be marked and fees paid before May 1 each year. The maximum fine is believed to be £200.

Part of the argument is understood to surround a belief by some commoners that if their animals graze the National Trust commons and not the Crown lands which make up the bulk of the Forest, they should not have to pay.