Millionaire Nicholas van Hoogstraten, who has been involved in a protracted battle with the Ramblers over a blocked path, has been found guilty of manslaughter
Nicolas van Hoogstraten, the bete noire of the Ramblers Association, has been found guilty of manslaughter.
The Ramblers have been engaged in a protracted battle with the millionaire over the blocking of a footpath running through the grounds of his house near Uckfield in East Sussex. The most recent episode in the saga saw the RA take Sussex County Council to court over their failure to remove obstructions to the path. Despite losing, the Ramblers have been given leave to appeal.
Hoogstraten's campaign against the Ramblers included some rather eccentric pronouncements - see links to previous articles below - including an assertion that they are 'a bunch of disenfranchised perverts' and 'You ask any policeman, he'll tell you. They're what we call the dirty mac brigade. Flashers. Very few decent upright citizens, people who pay their rates, taxes, and have a house they own are anything to do with the Ramblers Association.'
More soberingly, at the time the deputy leader of East Sussex county council is said to have told the Independent that his officers were 'frightened to death' of van Hoogstraten.
The millionaire has not yet been sentenced, but it seems likely that the legal battle over the path will be the last thing on his mind right now.
BBC news story
Ramblers Association
