Trump opponent claims tycoon has taken over his land

Ground Dispute: Michael Forbes says Trump has taken over land that still belongs to him

A group opposed to Donald Trump’s Aberdeenshire golf resort claim the oil tycoon has taken over ground belonging to a local landowner as his own.

The Tripping Up Trump group alleges Trump workers used heavy machinery to clear an area of land that belongs to Michael Forbes. Mr Forbes is one of a handful of Menie Estate residents refusing to sell their properties to make way for the complex.

Mr Forbes claims he was given no warning ahead of Tuesday’s action.

Commenting, Tripping Up Trump spokesman Martin Glegg said: "Mr Trump is not going to get this land. It belongs to other people - in the case of 'The Bunker', to lots of other people."

Trump International completely refuted the claims, saying the land belongs to the firm.

In a statement the company said: “The land belongs to Trump International.  Michael Forbes was notified well in advance that a fence would be erected to demarcate our land boundary and for health and safety purposes. 

“He was given three weeks  to clear the abandoned machinery and other disused items stored on our land.   As a result of his failure to reclaim the materials, the items were moved several metres onto his land under strict supervision and police observation. 

“These boundaries have been clearly illustrated on our public masterplan documents for many years and have been marked out using advanced GPS technology and land survey maps.”

The dispute is the latest in an ongoing dispute between Trump and Mr Forbes.