A FISHERY boss has banned Eastern Europeans from his lake in a bid to combat “thieving” of his stock.

Farmer Billy Evans claimed Field Farm Fisheries in Launton, near Bicester, had been plundered by Eastern European anglers over the last six months – so he has banished them all from the banks of his four-acre lake.

Mr Evans, who has owned the fishery for 25 years, said he put up a ‘keep-out’ sign after catching at least 10 Eastern European anglers stealing carp.

Although it is legal to catch fish with a rod licence in the UK, anglers must return their catches alive unless local by-laws state otherwise.

The 71-year-old said: “It’s been thieving and thieving constantly for the last six months, but they’re not thieving on my place anymore.

“They’re not coming here to take fish when I only charge £7 a day. I trusted them all to start with, but they fiddled me and started stealing fish.

“I’m 100 per cent sure it’s Poles and East Europeans.

“But how do I distinguish one from the other? I think the best way is to do a clean sweep to sort them out.”

Last night, Polish embassy spokesman Robert Szaniawski said: “This is clearly very racist and implies that we are some sort of uncivilised race that doesn’t know how to behave. By no means do Poles take or eat any more fish than the British.”

Mr Evans, a former Conservative Cherwell district councillor, said the final straw happened last month when he caught three foreign fisherman with three plastic bags full of 20 or 30 dead fish.

He estimates hundreds of the fish – the biggest of which can be worth up to £5,000 – have been taken.

Tony Gee, owner of Acorn Angling in Didcot, said: “You can understand where this guy’s coming from.

“Banning them is probably the wrong thing to do, but I don’t know any other way of stopping it if you can’t communicate with them.”

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has said the ban may be illegal.

A spokesman said: “It is unlawful to be refused a service, or not to be given the same standard of service extended to others, on grounds of race.

“If a member of the public feels they have been discriminated against, they can contact our helpline.”

Police spokesman Claire Gourlay said the force had no record of thefts at the lake.

In the Thames region, anglers are permitted to keep two of the fish they catch per day from open waters.

However, most private fisheries and clubs – which manage most of Oxfordshire’s open waters – ban anglers from taking any catches.