TWO Herefordshire farmers are among 2,000 business owners set on ‘bullying the banks’ to give small companies a better deal.

Will and Frances May are part of the organisation Bully Banks, and this month attended its conference in London on behalf of 37 farmers who claim to have been mistreated by high street banks and secondary lenders.

Frances May said: “The banking industry has changed radically in recent years and the public would be shocked if they knew the full extent of what has been going on since the crisis in 2008.

“The farmers we are working with were deliberately targeted by their bank, and these people have been subjected to serious wrongdoing.

“Without exception, they are hard working, straightforward and honest people, and have not deserved the treatment they have received.”

The Mays – whose own business was challenged in 2010 by a sharp rise in feed prices – responded by launching their own brand of local free range eggs in order to turn their business around.

However the stories of many of the farmers they represented follow a different path.

At the conference, Will May presented case studies of five farmers who had been mistreated and described what he had seen as wholly unacceptable, deeply worrying and even criminal.

The conference brought together those who have affected, and featured specialist talks from two leading law firms, Berg of Manchester and Shakespeare’s of Birmingham.

However Ms May added that the role of increased internet usage in rural area had a significant role to play in uniting farmers, most of whom belong to the ‘small- and medium-sized business’ category.

She said: ““It is thanks largely to the power of the internet that victims are no longer isolated, are now able to talk and work together.

“With the election due to take place next year, this is an issue which will challenge the political allegiance of grass roots voters.

“This was demonstrated at last weeks’ by-elections and I believe it underlines the need for traditional standards and values to be maintained and upheld in Britain today.”

For more information on Bully Banks, visit www.bully-banks.co.uk or call 07516 704630. Email smebankaction@gmail.com