Ramblers are to return to the courts if a barn blocking a footpath near millionaire Nicholas Hoogstraten's £30 million palace is not removed.

A six-month deadline imposed by magistrates in Lewes to remove the barn expired last night, prompting ramblers to promise a return to court.

The Ramblers' Association said it would make a final check at the weekend to see if the footpath was still blocked.

Campaigner Des Garrahan said: "We are hoping it is gone, don't get me wrong, but we are not holding our breath on the fact that it is gone."

Rarebargain Ltd, registered at the High Cross Estate, Framfield, owns some of the land crossed by the disputed footpath, Framfield Nine.

Magistrates fined the company £4,000 in March and told it to remove barbed wire, locked gates and a refrigeration until blocking the path.

The company was also ordered to dismantle the barn within six months.

The ramblers have already returned to the courts once since the March hearing, when Rarebargain was fined £15,000 for not removing the smaller obstructions.

Mr Garrahan said those obstructions were still in place.

The blocked path passes close to Mr Hoogstraten's still incomplete Hamilton Palace at Framfield, near Uckfield.