A MOOR, once the subject of a six-year legal battle over ownership in the 1980s, is again under the spotlight.

English Nature, the guardian of the English countryside, claims that Ickornshaw Moor at Cowling - nicknamed the working man's grouse moor - is being overgrazed.

It has refused to allow more sheep on the land which is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Two freeholders, who have rights to graze animals, cut turf and shoot game on the 774-acre moor, have appealed against the decision under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

Hearings are to be held in Keighley on September 13.

An inspector has been appointed by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to take charge.

A spokeswoman for English Nature said the two hearings would be held in private. "The issue in principle is that the moor is being overgrazed," she said.

It was English Nature's job to ensure the welfare of SSSI's and overgrazing could put the site in danger.

Ickornshaw Moor, part of the area designated the South Pennine Moors, has freehold rights stretching back more than 500 years.

A battle over ownership between freeholders and a gun club lasted six years, with the High Court eventually finding for neither group in 1986.

Freeholders, many of whom are villagers, still have rights to graze animals, cut turf and shoot grouse. Those rights are now vested in a board of trustees linked to Cowling Parish Council.

The freeholders' rights go back at least until 1583 when 25 farmers bought the freehold in a deal with the then lord of the manor.

Their numbers have increased over the centuries but the High Court ruled there was not enough evidence now to prove ownership.