A leading figure in Westcountry farming is quitting the 320 acres upon which he has built a considerable agricultural reputation because he says the place is under too much pressure from people enjoying the countryside.

That is the startling story behind Richard Haddock's decision to move from Coleton Barton, the coastal farm just south of Torbay where he and his wife Caroline have built an impressive beef and lamb business.

The couple will continue to work two neighbouring inland farms in a bid to support their booming farm-shop outlet, but Mr Haddock says pressure from more than a quarter of a million walkers a year has rendered the coastal unit unworkable as a profitable agricultural concern.

The Contested Landscape series is subtitled "what is the countryside for?" – a question which Mr Haddock puts like this: "Is it a playground – is it a theme park – or is it a food production area?"

And in reply the farmer once described as the NFU's "rottweiler" makes this outspoken comment: "It should be a place where food production is in partnership with nature – tourism and public access comes second."

Perhaps this is to be expected in a man who has lost numerous cattle and sheep to what loosely could be described as human intervention. His sheep have been chased over cliffs by dogs whose owners have had no control, his young cattle have died because of dog faeces contaminating silage, and he's lost cows which have eaten crisp packets and choked.

Farming in a beautiful place is obviously a pleasure, and a nightmare. But now the downside has caught up with Mr and Mrs Haddock and they have put the long-remaining lease of Coleton Barton on the market.

I meet the couple at their busy farm shop located on the main road between Paignton and Brixham, before farmer Haddock takes me on a tour of Coleton Barton which surrounds the famous National Trust property at Coleton Fishacre. Walking across the mighty grass topped hills that plunge toward a sparkling sea, Mr Haddock is in no mood to wax lyrical about the beauties of the landscape.

"Why am I slogging my guts out for the hassle? That's what we've asked and we've taken a very tough decision – and I emphasise tough because Coleton Barton has been my pride and joy.

"But I can't cope with this stress and strain any longer and I think now is the time. I'm putting the farm lease up for sale and changing my farming practices. What I want to say is there has to be a public debate on what happens to this type of farm in the future.

"This headland farm – before foot and mouth – was one of the most productive livestock farms in Devon per head of stock per acre. Now, in the last three years, we've downsized – we've gone from 350 suckler cows to 180.

"I am going to concentrate on the two inland farms but I believe we must have the debate: do we turn all farms like this over to the environment and public? If so, how will they keep them the way they are now, or will they go back to scrub?

"I have spoken to many farmers who have coastal farms in the South West and many are feeling like I do. You only have to go back over the past couple of years in the Western Morning News to see how many problems there've been. There are always stories about cattle being rescued from cliffs and so on.

"How can we keep it grazed, and keep it for the wildlife, if there's all this human pressure?" he asks as we looked out at his flock of Poll-Dorset sheep, beyond which we can see several dozen walkers enjoying a sunlit South West Coast Path.

"In 2000 a people-counter was put out there on a stile by a student from Exeter University and it counted approaching 350,000 walkers in that year," says Mr Haddock, throwing some light on the actual statistics when it comes to people pressure on the farm. He also shows me permissive paths which connect inland car parks to the coast trail, all of which run right through his fields.

"Many more people are walking the coast path now, and that counter didn't log all the ones who come down from the car parks," Mr Haddock says. "Once Hillhead holiday camp was revamped (a large caravan site a mile inland) and the National Trust did a lot of public relations for Colleton Fishacre, we saw numbers rising.

"When we first bought the lease in 1988 the legal searches said the figures were between 18,000 and 20,000 visitors per year at Coleton Fishacre, but it has now risen to 88,000 and they all have to come down our narrow single lane approach road.

"Plus, we have all the dog walkers and coastal walkers which make this headland such a popular destination. We are finding more litter – especially crisp bags which are particularly dangerous to livestock. Cattle and sheep love salt licks and crisps are covered in it – so they swallow the empty bags and it bungs up their intestine," he explains. "We've lost two cows on the farm through blockages – you are looking at a £1,000 loss for each. As a farmer you accept losses – but it's getting the public to understand they can stop this.

"As for dog pooh, the National Trust put signs up telling walkers to keep dogs on a lead in the fields. But dogs still mess in the silage fields. That can contaminate a ton of silage. A full grown cow is strong enough to fight the bacteria, but when a calf is born it doesn't have much resistance – their stomach lining is damaged and they either die or live for a week or 10 days. If we are lucky they survive – but they don't grow well and end up as runts.

"We lost 30 calves in one season in one field through this problem," says Mr Haddock. "We had MAFF crawling over us because this is a notifiable disease – we couldn't understand what was going wrong. There was a full investigation by the veterinary department and they said that sort of thing was caused by rubbish tip scavengers coming onto farmland. But that wasn't the case here, the only thing they could put it down to was dogs.

"That's an ongoing problem so we try and manage the farm around the public. But there's a number of people who get stroppy when you politely ask them to put the dog on a lead.

"There's a lack of understanding of what used to be the Countryside Code," says Mr Haddock. "Many people think they can walk wherever they want, they don't want to realise they are supposed to stick to footpaths.

"We were one of the first farms in the Government's countryside stewardship scheme, but most coastal farmers now cannot comply with the terms and conditions and also comply with the European animal welfare conditions. With the volume of people out on the cliffs with loose dogs, we know that harm will come to some of our animals – ie. they will be scared or chased into positions where they can either be killed or injured.

"We've lost sheep over cliffs – that will be backed up by the coastguard and Dartmouth RNLI – they've had to go and rescue sheep which have been chased by dogs. This happens most springs, so we take stock off the cliffs a couple of weeks before Easter and they are brought inland until after Christmas.

"I don't want people stopped walking or banned from the countryside," says an obviously frustrated Mr Haddock. "I don't want to see people starved of that – but I think we should sit down and have a genuine debate and get a genuine partnership.

"At certain times of year certain footpaths should be closed for two or three months – in (ground nesting bird) breeding season, for example. And there should be a reintroduction of the Countryside Code."

He muses for a moment: "Yes, as I've got older there's cartoon caricature of me as the farmer with steam coming out of his ears shouting 'Get off my land!' But I do try to explain to people – and I think it's time people like the National Trust really sat down and started practising what they preach.

"Are they looking after the countryside or are they making it too open for financial gain. Are they a charity anymore – or is it a thirsty, profit hunting, business?

"They have got to look at the future," Mr Haddock says of the National Trust. "You can't fit a quart in a pint pot as they're doing at Greenway and Coleton Fishacre. Yes, we need tourism, we need public access, but at what cost?

"Do we want food production in the future – or do we want all our food imported? If everything's going to be imported, just tell British farmers that – but you won't get food security that way."

In answer to some of Mr Haddock's criticisms, the National Trust's manager for the area, Robyn Brown, tells the WMN: "We are working with Mr Haddock in many aspects including looking at potentially purchasing the lease directly from him, however we are not in a position to say anymore about that at this particular time.

"We are also looking at ways of mitigating traffic where we can, but we do need to be realistic there are lots of people using this area, not just our visitors. A great many visitors to Coleton Fishacre are local people from Torbay as the property is very much seen as their local destination – an asset to the area and to many local businesses.

"We have a responsibility to protect everything we care for and to ensure we have the necessary support in order to do so."

Former tin miner, builder and civil engineer Richard Haddock is definitely not the type to quit anything in the sense that he feels beaten, but this time he believes he knows where common sense should take him.

"I've been here over 20 years and I am really going to miss it – I think either the trust will take over the lease or it will be a hobby farm," he tells me. "Places like this cannot be farmed as profitable units any more – for many coastal farms, those days are over."