Clarkson’s Farm viewers think they’ve cracked Diddly Squat Farm Shop’s biggest issue

Fans of Clarkson's Farm think they've cracked it when it comes to getting around the Diddly Squat Farm Shop rules imposed by West Oxfordshire District Council.

With the third season of the hit Amazon Prime Video documentary airing earlier this month, millions have been taken back to the 1,000-acre farm in the heart of England's picturesque Cotswolds.

And with that return trip comes more toing and froing between Jezza and the powers at be running the council.

The series starts off with Jeremy being told he has to shut down his brand new farm restaurant following the introduction of an enforcement notice.

Clarkson appeals the decision - he loses but in doing the same process, he is granted permission to build a car park for the farm shop in a huge win against the council.

He's also given permission for a cafe, restaurant on the site around the farm shop and toilet facilities.

One rule that stays with the farm shop is that produce being sold inside it must come from within a 16 mile radius of the farm itself.

But over on Reddit, viewers reckon they have an ingenious way around this when it comes to specific items.

Lisa Hogan is confronted by Charlie in the farm shop. (Prime Video)

The 16 mile rule becomes a talking point on the show during the appeal process, with Jeremy claiming his partner Lisa Hogan was selling items from outside of this area.

"We keep saying to her you can't sell [items from outside a 16 mile radius]," Jeremy said after the farm agronomist Charlie Ireland said he caught her 'red handed' with items from outside of the radius.

"I keep saying to Lisa, if you carry on selling stuff that is in breach of this enforcement notice, we - well, it'll be me in the Daily Mail - will be fined. If you could... sometimes you're quite firm with me? Could you be that firm with Lisa?"

Charlie heads to the farm shop where he tells Lisa they are 'under the spotlight'.

"We've had discussions over the past few months over what you can and can't sell," he said. "And we've done the potato thing, which has gone brilliantly. But you've got prices now on the t-shirts.

Diddly Squat t-shirts being sold in the farm shop when they can't be. (Prime Video)

"We can't do that. Really, you cannot sell them. Anything that is 16 miles away must go."

For context, the 'potato thing' was when Lisa and her team would sell a single potato for say, £28, with which you'd get a free t-shirt.

Lisa said: "As much as I want to respect government, councils and everything else, at what stage do you just really struggle with trying to respect what they're doing? I'm not trading arms here, it's just a farm shop."

Going around the shop, Charlie said you cannot sell items in there such as Cotswolds Monopoly, Jeremy's books related to the farm, or Diddly Squat embroidered handkerchiefs. He said even items such as marmalade couldn't be sold as they came from Somerset.

"We are fighting people who are not being rationale," Charlie stressed.

Lisa taking the price signs off of the t-shirts. (Prime Video)

But on the t-shirts, Reddit users reckon they've figured out how they can put a price on them for good.

One person said: "They should get a local to print the shirts and merch Screen printers aren't that large, and they also make some pretty affordable laser machines now for merchandise marking of things like mugs.

"Surely the step of buying in unmarked merch and getting the logos done in the town by someone (to create a job/business) or themselves would meet the 16 miles qualification then. Otherwise what, they can't sell jam because the jars weren't manufactured within miles?"

Another agreed, saying: "I'd think reselling a locally produced print shop items would be fine."

A second said: "Is that not what graphic designs are too? You buy a shirt for what's on it. So you are buying the design, not the shirt."

Diddly Squat Farm Shop has become a tourism attraction in its own right. (Peter Titmuss/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Others weren't convinced. One wrote: "I believe the t-shirts themselves would also need to be locally made, not just the graphics on them.

"If they could find a local business that is manufacturing t-shirts, or any other merchandise they could brand, it would probably allow it to be sold in the shop.

"Your jam comparison doesn't really work, since it isn't the jar being sold. It's the jam within the jar that is the actual product."

LADbible approached West Oxfordshire District Council for comment on the 16 mile radius ruling and how they'd be applied in this instance.