Jeremy Clarkson has lashed out at security officers after finding himself caught up in JD Vance’s visit to the UK.
The so-called ‘no-fly zone’ was set up around the Cotswolds for the US Vice President’s trip to the UK this month.
Vance is staying at the 18th Century Dean Manor in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.
As the controversial politician and his security team descend upon the small-town English hamlet, local residents have had their lives disrupted by ‘the circus’ his visit entailed.
One such local is Diddly Squat boss Jeremy Clarkson, who found himself entangled in the Hillbilly Elegy author’s no-fly zone.
With his drone intercepted by members of Vance’s security team, the miffed Grand Tour host snapped back in typically Clarkson fashion.
Clarkson had been using the drone to film the latest series of his hit show Clarkson’s Farm, which uses the gadget to shoot certain scenes.
As he explained in The Times, Clarkson was approached by a member of Vance’s security team who asked him: ‘Is that your drone?’
When he responded in the affirmative, the TV presenter-turned-farmer was reportedly told: ‘You aren’t allowed to fly that today.’
Clarkson claims that he then told the officer to ‘f***k off,’ to which he replied: ‘OK.’
Clarkson had previously shared a picture of Vance’s no-fly zone to his Instagram account.
He captioned the map: ‘The JD Vance no-fly zone. We are the pin. So on the downside, no drone shots today. On the upside, no annoying light aircraft.’
The TV star’s pin showed Diddly Squat’s location on the outskirts of the red circle.
Meanwhile, one unnamed source told The Daily Mail: ‘Dean Manor is as close as possible to Mr Clarkson’s farm house as can be. I’m willing to bet Clarkson can see it out of his bedroom window.’
Detailing the disruption, farm manager Kaleb Cooper commented on Clarkson’s post: ‘My wheat got wet in the trailer last night as the convo stopped me in the rain in [Chipping Norton].
‘I could have easily went on my way and got it in the shed without getting in the way.’
Cooper added: ‘He he just drove around in a vw polo nobody would know who he was 😂’
In a message shared by The Telegraph, house owners Johnny and Pippa Hornby apologised to locals for the disruption, with Mrs. Hornby describing herself as ‘so sorry for the circus that is there for the next few days.’
She went on to share her hope that it would not be ‘too disruptive.’
The six-acre property was chosen by the US Secret Service team for its remote and secure location.
It’s unlikely that Vance will be popping by Diddly Squat for a neighbourly visit though, given recent tensions between the pair.
In response to comments made by Vance about the UK (describing it, among other things, as ‘some random country’), Clarkson wrote: ‘I’ve searched for the right word to describe him and I think it’s “t**t”. He also has no clue about history.
‘Because far more recently than 30 or 40 years ago, as Vance claimed last week, our brave young men were being blown to pieces in some godforsaken desert to support whatever madcap scheme the American president had embarked upon that week.’
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