The Prime Minister has been warned that farmers will abandon their unofficial role as the "fourth emergency service" if the Government persists with scrapping inheritance tax relief for farms.

Farmers often help the traditional emergency services, using their heavy machinery to move fallen trees and debris during storms.

However, Simon Orson, who works 700 acres of farmland in Leicestershire, has warned Sir Keir Starmer that the nation's agricultural workers will have no choice but to ignore crises where they otherwise would have helped.

"We do so many things we don’t get paid for," Mr Orson told LBC. "Clearing snow off the road, removing fallen trees, problems with the water. We do this for the goodness of our community and country, but we won’t be able to continue doing that for free if we’re not being backed by the Government."

The farmer, who says he lives on a meagre £22,000 a year, told the radio station: "Last week I cleared a footpath locally, I brought in people to help and it cost me £500.

"I don’t want that money back, I’m doing it for the local community – but now I’ll leave all of that to the council to pay for.

"I can’t keep giving away my time and money when it really looks like I’ll have to start saving every single penny."

Under the Government's plans, from April 2026, farmers inheriting farms worth £1m or more will have to pay 20% inheritance tax.

Previously farms were exempt from inheritance tax, but now the Government is forcing farmers to fork out, despite weeks of protests.

A Government spokesperson said: "Our commitment to farmers remains steadfast.

"This Government will invest £5 billion into farming over the next two years, the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history. We are going further with reforms to boost profits for farmers by backing British produce and reforming planning rules on farms to support food production.

"Our reforms to Agricultural and Business Property Relief will mean three-quarters of estates will continue to pay no inheritance tax at all, while the remaining quarter will pay half the inheritance tax that most people pay, and payments can be spread over 10 years, interest-free. This is a fair and balanced approach which helps fix the public services we all rely on."