A retired British stockbroker claims he has been subjected to a sustained campaign of harassment and intimidation in a row over a bridle path running through his property in an idyllic corner of south-west France. “It has been hell. In the beginning we all thought it was the traditional sort of spat between neighbours that happens all the time in France,” Roderick Sinclair said of the dispute at his French second home, a stone farmhouse his family have spent thousands renovating in Montjoi, in the Tarn-et-Garonne. “It’s not. It’s a sustained campaign of harassment against not just me and my family but also the poor mayor who has had a horrendous time.” A local pig farmer, Pierre-Guillaume Mercadal, has accused Sinclair, 78, and the village mayor, Christian Eurgal, of illegally privatising an ancient public right of way. The row hit national headlines last week when Eurgal revealed he was now under police protection after receiving death threats from a far-right group that supports Mercadal. The bucolic village of Montjoi, founded in the 13th century, population 167 at the time of the 2015 census, sits on a rocky outcrop overlooking an area of outstanding natural beauty. Sinclair says that when he bought the house in 1995, there was an ancient dirt bridle path running through the garden but “this wasn’t a problem because it was rarely used”. When the path was listed on a map for quad bike enthusiasts, Sinclair says he decided to buy a piece of land 100 metres from the ancient right of way for €15,000 (£13,000) and create a new road. The village council agreed. “The idea was that we would do a swap. I would give the new path to the village and they would give me the old path.” He said the deal was not registered properly at the time, “which we discovered when Mr Mercadal arrived”. Eurgal, 75, said the local prefect had twice ordered the bridle path to be “declassified” and incorporated into Sinclair’s property, but Mercadal, who set up his business in Montjoi in 2017, had continued to use it and demanded Sinclair pay him to stop. Eurgal said the farmer had direct access to his own land along the new road but was holding Sinclair “to ransom”. Sinclair said he had letters demanding €75,000 to be left in peace. A far-right YouTube influencer in Toulouse took up Mercadal’s case. The YouTuber made two videos featuring simulated rape, masked gunmen and homophobic references, depicting the mayor as a “weasel” and describing Sinclair as an “English lord”. They have been viewed by almost 500,000 people. Since the videos appeared last autumn, Eurgal said he had received death threats daily. “The immediate effect of the videos was catastrophic and has put my life in danger. I now have police protection for defending a British citizen in my village,” he said. Last September, Mercadal – who stood for election to the village council in 2020, coming last on a list of 12 candidates – was fined €5,000 after being found guilty of preventing the mayor from leaving the village hall. Mercadal has accused the mayor and “the rich Englishman” of illegally privatising a public path and said the replacement road was in a bad state. He said he had been threatened and the video featuring armed men was intended to be “satirical”. “It’s a bit of comedy. There’s no call to violence … nothing illegal,” he told Radio Courtoisie. Mercadal told the Guardian that he was the victim in the longstanding row and that the road crossing Sinclair’s property had been illegally privatised. “For him [Sinclair] this affair is just a question of money. For me it’s my livelihood. All I want to do is work. It’s not true to say there is an alternative road for me to get to work. The other road is steep, has a tight curve and is in such a bad state no delivery lorries will go down it. All Mr Sinclair had to do was to pay for a new road that was as good as or better than the existing road that passes by his house and the problem would have been solved. He would not do that.” He added: “I’m not responsible for threats made against anyone … The video doesn’t call for violence against anyone. It is supposed to be humorous, yes, it’s a certain style of humour and you like it or you don’t but it is humour. The weasel in the film is an allegory for the corruption of the French republic and does not represent the mayor. “There is someone with a machine gun but it’s not a working weapon, it’s been decommissioned. It is not a question of hatred against the English. You know there was the hundred years war in the south of France and there’s always tense relations over the rugby, but with the English it’s rivalry and humour not hatred.” Of the YouTuber he said: “He has been a friend for six years. For years I’ve been trying to get the French media to cover this story with no success and he took it on. I used to be a local farmers’ representative and was called a Communist. Now I’m called a Nazi and far-right but none of the leftwing papers will cover this story.” The mayor has received support from the prefect as well as departmental and regional officials and the local MP. “I am determined to declassify this path. It is absolutely normal that Mr Sinclair and his family should be able to live in peace in their own property,” Eurgal said. “The prefect and the villagers agree.” Sinclair said tens of thousands of euros’ worth of damage had been done to his property, including trees being poisoned and fences removed, and the dispute had cost him a fortune in legal fees. “I used to rent out the house when we weren’t there, but this business has completely stuffed that. The farmer has taken to driving down the bridle path which runs one metre from our bathroom and putting his hand on the horn every time he passes. He has also played loud music from speakers at all hours of the day and night and at one point would come down and blow a trumpet. It’s been a long-term, sustained campaign.” He said he was now unable to sell or rent the property, where he lived full-time between 2011 and 2015, because of the continued harassment of its occupants. “Hopefully now this has all come out to a wider public, something will happen to resolve it, but it does take time to get anything done in France,” he said. “The family won’t be going there this summer but we’re not running away. We have to stay and battle on, but each time something happens the harassment goes up a notch.”