A DECISION by the Secretary of State for the Environment John Prescott against a barrier built without permission on common land at Brentor has been hailed as a victory by campaigners.

Brentor Commoners built an earth bank almost a kilometre long on Liddaton Down and a fence of a similar length on nearby Bowden Down a decade ago to keep vehicles out after it was targeted by 'travellers' and fly-tippers.

Last week Mr Prescott turned down an application to legalise the bank — a decision welcomed by the Open Spaces Society — and deferred his decision on the fence until the end of October.

Kate Ashbrook, general secretary of the Open Spaces Society, said: 'We are overjoyed that these commons will be freed of their fencing and will — as a result of our efforts — become open space once again for the public to enjoy.'

Commoners' secretary Alan Davey said they were negotiating with West Devon Borough Council for the removal of the bank, but added they had never intended the structures to remain permanently.

He said he was hopeful an application for a Countryside Stewardship grant — to be decided by October 31 — would enable them to clear scrub on the commons and install cattle grids, making both barrier structures largely redundant and enabling grazing to take place again.

'I'm sending a copy of the report to the people who will be making the decision to throw, hopefully, a bit more weight behind our application. The cattle grids have been a stumbling block for the past two or three years,' said Mr Davey.

Permission for the structures should have been obtained from the secretary of state under the 1925 Property Act.

West Devon Borough Council, with support from myriad organisations and individuals, including Devon County Council, the Open Spaces Society, the Dartmoor Preservation Association and West Devon Environmental Network, forced the commoners to apply for permission last year and a public enquiry was held during May.

Mr Prescott supported the view of the inspector at the public enquiry and refused permission for the earth bank.

He deferred a decision on the fence at Bowden Down until October 31 pending the outcome of the Countryside Stewardship application.

West Devon planning officer Jane Green said the matter would go before the council on July 4, but she hoped they would be able to reach an amicable agreement with the commoners to remove the structure.

Mr Prescott noted the inspector's comments that the banks 'looked wholly contrived and out of place on the common' and had a negative effect both on the character of Liddaton Down and the ease of access.

He said he understood the commoners' past problems with travellers, but said there were other remedies to problems caused by unauthorised occupation of the common. He noted that the bank had not completely deterred fly tippers.

Mr Prescott accepted that grazing would be beneficial to the appearance and character of the common, but felt that the banks could not contain livestock and could not therefore assist in re-establishing grazing.