Kate Ashbrook, of the Ramblers' Association, said she was "very pleased" with the result yesterday.

But she vowed to continue the fight to open up the public right of way at Framfield which is blocked by a barn, old fridges, gates and a barbed wire fence.

The pathway, which is less than half a mile, runs through land which has been linked to the controversial tycoon.

After the owner of the land was fined for obstructing a highway yesterday, Miss Ashbrook said: "We now have to get a court to order removal of the obstruction.

"If we are lucky that will happen in the autumn, but we want to get it done."

Blocked

Stipendiary magistrate James Shrimpton ruled yesterday the owner of the land, Rarebargain Ltd, should be fined a total of £1,600 for two occasions when Miss Ashbrook went to the footpath and found it blocked last year.

Solicitor David Englehart said a Mr O'Connor was the director of Rarebargain, but he had been unable to get in touch with him to receive instructions on how to proceed with the case as he was in Ireland.

The land was previously owned by Hamilton Palace Ltd, the director of which was Nicholas Von Hessen, a pseudonym used by Mr Hoogstraten, 54.

The land was transferred to Rarebargain in January 1999, just days after dozens of ramblers staged a well-publicised walk across the land.

It is now registered with Companies House as a development and real estate firm with James O'Donaghue as a director.

Shareholders include Mr Von Hessen, Mr Hoogstraten's ex-wife Agnes Gnoumou, and members of his family.

Mr Hoogstraten, who was not at the hearing, has fiercely attacked ramblers in the past branding them "the great unwashed", "riff-raff" and "disgusting creatures".

He also said the association "can waste their time because ultimately, what they will need to do is have some kind of armed security guards there, 365 days a year".

Miss Ashbrook, who is an executive committee member with the association, said: "They don't dare to try and even use the path. It is outrageous."

She said the association would start new proceedings to have the obstructions to the pathway removed.

Rarebargain must also pay the ramblers' costs of £3,500.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.