HOTELIERS in the English Riviera will vote on whether young farmers should be allowed back to the resort following reports of 'yobbish' behaviour.

Around 200 members of the Torbay Hospitality Association will have their say on whether they want the Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs to return.

The vote comes after 3,500 young farmers attended the group's three-day annual conference in Torquay last month.

Hotelier Peter Oliver of the Glenwood Hotel in Torquay said the young farmers' drunken, rowdy behaviour was off-putting to other holidaymakers.

'I think "yobbish" is a pretty fair description. There were groups of up to 50 of them charging around the town drunk at 11 in the morning,' he said.

'I would like some form of absolute guarantee of behaviour which can be backed up by their own organisation, or we should get them out. We don't want them as far as I'm concerned. I think quite a few of the other hoteliers share my feelings. I know I am not alone.'

The young farmers' next annual conference will be held in Blackpool, but the group was due to return to Torquay in 2005.

Nick Sansom, national chairman of the Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs (YFC), said reports of bad behaviour during the AGM had been exaggerated.

'I saw a lot of young people having a fun time away from home in a seaside resort. A bit of high jinks going on but nothing that was harmful or threatening behaviour,' he said.

The results of Torbay Hospitality Association survey will be passed to the Riviera International Conference Centre in Torquay which hosts the YFC conference.

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Dateline: Thursday, June 26, 2003