A fishery in Oxfordshire could face legal action after it put up a sign saying “No Polish or eastern bloc fishermen allowed”.

Field Farm fisheries, near Bicester, which describes itself as “picturesque, tranquil and an idyllic setting” with an “extensively stocked” lake for leisure anglers, has ignored letters from a Polish enthusiast and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

Now the angler, Rado Papiewski, is hoping to launch a discrimination case and has set up a crowdfunding campaign to fund the action.

Rado Papiewski has launched a crowdjustice campaign to fund legal action Photograph: Supplied

Papiewski, 35, from Doncaster, said other anglers alerted him to the notice earlier this year. In full it reads: “No vehicle access. No Polish or eastern bloc fishermen allowed. No children or dogs.”

Papiewski said he was dismayed by the sign. “When I first saw it I thought of my 10-year-old son who loves angling,” he said. “How could I say to him you can’t fish here because your dad was born in Poland?”

He decided to challenge the sign, which he believes to be discriminatory, and wrote to Field Farm fisheries requesting that it be removed.

He received no response and then approached the EHRC. But correspondence from it also failed to get the sign removed so Papiewski decided to launch a crowdjustice campaign to fund the legal action.

“This disturbing sign should have never been displayed as it clearly discriminates against people from Poland and other eastern European countries,” said Papiewski.



“It made many fellow law-abiding migrant anglers and me very upset and angry. Quite simply – we want the sign removed and to show that discriminatory signs like this one have no place in the angling community of Great Britain.”

Papiewski also has the backing of the Angling Trust. On Monday he urged others to support his call to get the sign removed, and “show that Great Britain is a welcoming place where fishermen from across Europe can coexist peacefully”.

If he succeeds, the business could be ordered to pay compensation and remove the sign.

Field Farm is closed for the winter. Its website says that the lake is populated by carp, along with roach, rudd, tench, bream and golden orfe.

A woman who picked up the phone at the number listed on its website said the sign was still up but that the gate to the site was locked. She added that the owner was away and that the sign is on private land. A request to pass on a message seeking comment to the owner was declined.

Papiewski runs a project called Building Bridges, aimed at integrating fishing communities from mainland Europe – much of which allows anglers to keep their catch – with anglers in the UK, where fish must be returned to the water.

He helps educate immigrant anglers about the difference between the laws governing angling in mainland Europe and those in the UK, and tries to ensure they abide by British rules.

The aim of British laws requiring anglers to return fish to the waters they come from is to improve conservation and prevent the depletion of fish stocks.

Papiewski argues that the ban at Field Farm fisheries, which has no relation to another identically named business in Suffolk, is disproportionate and that only a small number of those prosecuted for breaking the angling rules are of eastern European origin.



His solicitor Alex Peebles, said Papiewski’s account suggested the Equality Act 2010 had been breached. “The sign displayed by the business demonstrates clearly that they are refusing to provide their services to certain people, purely on the basis of their race and/or nationality,” he said. “Race and nationality are protected characteristics under the Equality Act.”



An EHRC spokesperson said: “This type of sign should be a thing of the past. Banning people from services based on their race or nationality is discrimination and unlawful. It’s right to challenge such out of date practices and any business that believes this is acceptable should think again before they find themselves facing legal action.”

