FARMER Arnold Davenport is celebrating what his supporters described as a "moral victory" after a judge decided not to jail him for defying bailiffs sent to evict him from his farm.

The 60-year-old bachelor cheered outside Bolton County Court on Fridayday after District Judge Derwin Hope made his dramatic decision before a packed court room.

Campaigners are claiming a moral victory but realise that the farmer still faces further court hearings to see whether he can stay at Nab Gate farm in Harwood.

Campaigner Mr Ian Broadley said after the hearing: "This is a great moral victory."

A consent order which Mr Davenport signed last August, effectively signing away his rights to the farm, was also set aside in a rare act by a civil court judge.

The judge made the ruling after saying that solicitors acting for both sides had failed to take into account a promise which had been made to Mr Davenport by landowner, Mr Christopher Holt.

The court had heard that Mr Holt's father, the late Liberal MP Arthur Holt, had promised that the farmer could remain at the farm for the lifetime of the MP's wife Kathleen.

The widow is currently living at a residential home for the elderly at Breightmet.

District Judge Hope said: "Both solicitors signed a consent order and lodged it with the court in ignorance of the promise made to Mr Davenport. This is a fundamental matter."

Mr Davenport could still face eviction in the New Year and will appear before a judge in January for possession proceedings.

Outside court, Mr Davenport said: "It's a victory and I'm relieved not to be sent to prison. But it is not over yet, I've not won. I have said all along that I was promised I could stay."

Mr Holt, of Old Nans Lane, Harwood, said that he was still unsure what the judge's decision would mean and declined to comment further.