Jeremy Clarkson ’s star power was the cause of a major disruption this weekend.
Thousands of people headed to his Chadlington farm to queue up for the chance to meet him.
The former Top Gear presenter created quite the ruckus in the Evenlode Valley village, as a gigantic line formed towards the Diddly Squat Farm Shop, which Jeremy opened in 2020.
After words got out that Jezza was at his farm - which rose to fame following the success of his show, Clarkson’s Farm - pictures from yesterday’s event revealed just how hectic things became.
One fan who headed along for the special occasion told The Mirror that so many people turned up the police had to go along to control the crowd.
On the Facebook page dedicated to the Chadlington Community Notice Board, a local wrote: “Avoid going anywhere near Diddly Squat farm shop, whole road is blocked again, but worse there are people stopping on the 60mph bend with nowhere to go.”
Residents were outraged by the scene they were witnessing in their hometown as someone commented: “I've just seen pictures that someone else has posted.
“Utterly ridiculous.
“Clarkson needs to do something and quickly.
“It's going to cause an accident! Queues all up Burford Road.”
Fans came in by the thousands, breaking the village’s usual peace and quiet, much to the dismay of angry local residents.
Many called emergency services after cars were dumped on the side of the road.
When asked about the situation, Thames Valley Police told The Mirror: "Officers received reports yesterday in relation to congestion on the roads in Chadlington.
"Officers attended the scene, but no crime had been committed.
"Our neighbourhood team for the area is aware of the situation."
Following fans posting on social media about meeting the famous motor journalist, word quickly spread that Jeremy was at that shop, which prompted hundreds of more fans to queue for up to three hours to get a picture with him.
One Instagram user posted a series of photos from yesterday’s events, displaying Jeremy's big Diddly Squat Farm wooden sign, along with the hundreds of fans waiting in line and Jeremy himself, pictured talking to the visitors.
He captioned the post: “A 3-hour wait to get into the Farm Shop, police, Jeremy & Kaleb”
Another Instagram user also uploaded a series of pictures from the chaotic occurrence, only this time, showing just how immense the queue of cars and people really was.
The person wrote: “A ride out on the Harley with @teapot_147 to the Cotswolds….
“Found Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm Shop….
“Never seen queues, gridlock or traffic chaos like it!!!
“Thank goodness we were on the bike and didn’t get stuck!!!”
Jezza bought the farming estate in 2008, previously part of the Sarden estate in Oxfordshire.
He acquired a thousand acres from the land, which included Curdle Hill Farm.
The TV star renamed the property “Diddly Squat” to express its lack of productivity.
The estate’s fields were farmed on a contract basis by a local who retired in 2019 before Jeremy decided to try farming the land for himself.
This experience resulted in Jeremy’s television documentary, Clarkson’s Farm, which was first broadcasted by Amazon Prime in 2021.
Diddly Farm is, as its official website puts it, “a small barn full of good, no-nonsense things you'll like,” and has been opened to the public since last year.
