lawyer David Morley.

Mr. Pacheco, who said he has suffered numerous incidents of theft and trespass from his fields over the years, said the binding over of Mr. Morley for six months "meant nothing''.

He had demanded theft charges because he wanted someone to be made an example of as a deterrent to the thieves that plague him and other farmers across Bermuda.

He was upset at the magistrate's decision as he wanted to send a message out to "night farmers'' and random thieves, that such behaviour would not be tolerated.

"It is nothing personal against Mr. Morley but it was about everybody who does it,'' he said. "He should have been found guilty.'' Mr. Pacheco says farmers like him lose up to $5,000 of valuable crops each year -- mainly to night farmers who come in darkness and strip crops, in order to sell them to restaurants or shops who don't question their origins.

But he said occasional thieves can cost him dear, as they trample over crops in search of fruit or vegetables.

And he added that there is little they can do to apart from mounting a 24 hour guard on their crops.

Mr. Pacheco said it was maybe time for the Government to look at the issue, with a view to making it difficult for thieves to sell crops by reducing their market.