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Devon farmer David Partridge has won the right to full compensation from the Government in a landmark court case.

Eight prize cows belonging to Mr Partridge, from Tiverton, were taken away to slaughter in March 2006 after contracting bovine TB.

Compensation paid to him was based on the "table values" introduced by Defra the month before.

But in the High Court today, Lord Justice Stanley Burnton ruled that as the Cattle Compensation (England) Order 2006 fails to pay market value to owners, it conflicts with the EU law principle of equality, and is therefore illegal.

Mr Partridge's company, Partridge Farms Ltd., of Ennerleigh Farm, Washfield, near Tiverton, was paid a total of £8,726 in compensation under the table valuation system, which averages out values of slaughtered cattle according to age and breed.

However he claimed his high-value pedigree cattle would have fetched an average of more than £3,000 each.

Tim Russ, head of agriculture at law firm Clarke Willmott, who brought the case against Defra on behalf of Mr Partridge, hailed today's decision as a "real lift to the agricultural community."

"This is a fantastic result," he said. "It's a real lift to the agricultural community, especially after last week's very disappointing decision not to cull TB-infected badgers that are spreading the disease to cattle.

"While Defra has been granted permission to appeal because of the importance of the case, the judgement is seriously damning of Defra's failure to act fairly in devising the table value scheme, so a successful appeal is unlikely. The judgement will potentially help many farmers who have been under-compensated in similar situations to Mr Partridge."

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