The legal right to wild camp on Dartmoor has been upheld by the Supreme Court in a decision that is likely to reignite the debate over public access to land in England. Judges unanimously rejected an appeal by landowners Alexander and Diana Darwall who said people should not be able to camp without permission from landowners.

Campaigners and MPs have called for greater public freedom to wild camp across the UK after the Supreme Court ruled that the public has the right to camp on Dartmoor.Five justices unanimously ruled on Wednesday that the term “recreation” in the law governing the use of the national park in Devon – the only national park where wild camping is allowed – is used “without qualification as to the form which it should take”.