Nicolas Bardy was ordered to pay the sum to his neighbours after a judge ruled that they had been disturbed by the smells.

Mr Bardy, whose farm is located in Jallès in the Cantal area of central France, has also been ordered to cover the legal costs of his neighbours, who retired to the countryside from the nearby city of Saint-Étienne in 2001.

The neighbours first filed a lawsuit against Mr Bardy a decade ago, complaining about the smell of dung and the odour of his hay bale coverings.

Mr Bardy subsequently removed his cows from the shed next to his neighbours and promised to spend €120,000 building a new one on the other side of the farm.

However, litigation continued until judges upheld the neighbours’ case, saying that they had suffered “strong, irritating odours”, The Times reports.

Mr Bardy said: “It makes me angry. Smells are part of the tradition of the countryside.”

Local residents in Jallès have set up a petition in support of Mr Bardy with 122,000 signatures and have raised €11,000 to help to pay his costs.