Family ends campaign to save Isle of Wight's Westridge Farm

Houses have already been built alongside the farm

A family have given up their campaign to prevent houses being built on land they had farmed for 55 years.

Planning permission was granted for more than 470 new homes at Westridge Farm near Ryde in July.

More than 5,000 people had signed a petition supporting efforts by tenant farmers, the Holliday family, opposing the development.

The family said they had now "no fight left" and would leave the dairy farm later this year.

As tenant farmers, Nigel and Amy Holliday had permission to farm the land at Westridge Farm for three generations and their son, Archie, was next in line to take it on.

Mrs Holliday had spoken at the planning meeting in July, pleading to keep "our home and our livelihood".

Archie had also featured in a social media video in which he said he wanted to be a farmer "like my dad, grandad and great-grandad".

A crowdfunding campaign for a judicial review over the planning decision had raised £14,000.

In a statement, the family said "with a heavy heart", they had reach an agreement with their landlord to gain vacant possession and farming would cease by 31 October.

"We have lived our lives for so long with such uncertainty, not knowing the next move of the landlord, developer and council and when we would be served notice to leave, yet continuing to farm every single day.

"We are so thankful for the community support as without you all we certainly wouldn't have made it this far. We are truly sorry that we can not go on fighting but we can only take so much.

"But we as a family are broken and we have simply had enough," it said.

Developer Captiva Homes previously said the development would protect 80 local jobs and create 473 "desperately-needed" homes - including 166 affordable homes.