A French olive farmer convicted of helping illegal migrants slip across the border from Italy was given a suspended fine of €3,000 (£2,550) by a court in Nice on Friday.

Cédric Herrou, from the Roya valley near the Italian border, was cleared of other charges that he illegally accommodated migrants in a disused holiday camp and helped them travel and stay in France.

However, he told French radio on Friday that he still had four teenagers from Eritrea and one from Sudan staying in caravans at his farm.

“It is an act of humanity, not a crime,” he said, defiantly claiming to be part of a support network of “thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people who believe in fraternity”.

He is part of an underground group of local residents and academics who provide food and lodging and help migrants on their way northwards towards Britain or Germany.

With his black beard, beret and round glasses, Mr Herrou, 37, has become an unlikely media celebrity, seen as an outlaw by some, but as a local hero to others.