Jeremy Clarkson has been a champion of British farmers but when it comes to the cider business, it may be a different story.

The former Top Gear presenter has been accused of putting local cideries at risk by seeking to have his Hawkstone brand stocked at small countryside events.

Neil Worley, who runs Worley’s Cider in Somerset, said Mr Clarkson’s alleged attempt to muscle in on the market threatened to be “financially catastrophic” for small businesses like his.

He told The Telegraph: “If they are successful – and I would imagine they have the resources to offer more money in pitch fees than small independent producers would be able to – that would have a large negative impact on cider makers who rely on the tiny slice of the retail cake those events provide those makers.”

Mr Worley warned that the successful infiltration of small events by Hawkstone “could potentially be financially catastrophic to those small businesses”. Writing on X, he added: “Butt out – you’re bankrupting us.”

Mr Clarkson co-founded Hawkstone Lager in 2021 with Johnny Hornby, an advertising executive, after teaming up with Emma and Rick Keene, who are Cotswold brewers. The beer is made at a brewery near Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, using barley grown on Mr Clarkson’s Diddly Squat farm.

In 2022, Hawkstone launched a cider created by Kaleb Cooper, the Clarkson’s Farm co-star, who would “rather swim in slurry” than drink beer, according to the business. The cider is made by Herefordshire-based Westons Cider using locally sourced apples.

Mr Clarkson, who also runs The Farmer’s Dog pub, has become a prominent backer of British agriculture following the success of the Amazon Prime TV series documenting his efforts to run a 1,000-acre farm in Oxfordshire.

He is an enthusiastic supporter of the Back British Farming campaign and a vocal critic of Labour’s inheritance tax raid on farmers, which was watered down after protests from farmers and concern from Labour backbenchers.

However, the rapid growth of Hawkstone – which is now stocked in more than 3,000 pubs as well as supermarkets across the UK – risks putting the former BBC star in conflict with smaller brewers.

Mr Worley said: “It seems that Hawkstone is a large, well-funded and widely recognised brand.

“They have the power to significantly disturb the very precarious ecosystem of small cider makers who are more focused on the history and cultural significance of cider.”

He added: “We don’t expect to make a fortune but we do need to survive to keep alive a tradition of healthy, natural cider made on farms, not in factories.”

Hawkstone’s sales almost tripled to £21.3m last year, according to an interview with Mr Clarkson.

Hawkstone’s Mr Hornby said: “We only support British farmers to make authentic British farmed products. Our cider has been made for Kaleb in a recipe he created with Guy Weston, a fifth-generation cider farmer with Hereford and surrounding country apples, all of which are naturally reared and produced, never pasteurised or made from concentrate.

“If we ever strong-armed a local business, let us know and we will support them.”

It is not the first time Hawkstone has courted controversy. Mr Clarkson claimed last year that the first TV ad for his brand’s lager had been banned by regulators, saying it had been blocked by the “fun police in their beige offices”. The advert featured a choir of British farmers singing an expletive-laden version of opera classic Flower Duet.

However, the claim was later revealed to be a marketing stunt as the ad had never been officially submitted.

Mr Clarkson’s alcohol brand, which is named after a 4,000-year-old Neolithic stone close to Diddly Squat, has won awards for its beers, which also include an IPA and a stout.

The presenter has claimed he originally wanted to call his beer “Lager McLagerface” but was overruled by Mr Hornby, who argued the name did not conjure up a premium image.

Worley’s Cider, which is based near Shepton Mallet in Somerset’s Mendip Hills, was founded in 2009 when Mr Worley began experimenting with apple varieties and blends.

The company supplies cider to pubs, festivals, country shows, markets and events across the UK.