Cockle fishermen on the Wash have won a Supreme Court ruling over fishing rights

Watch Kate Prout's report here

Fishing boat owners have claimed an important victory in the Supreme Court over historic cockle fishing rights in the Wash.

Lynn Shellfish Ltd and other owners of vessels who operate out of King's Lynn say the ruling by the highest court in the land "draws a line in the sand" and protects their rights and the rights of future generations of fishermen in an industry worth "considerable sums of money".

The legal battle was fought against John Loose, the tenant of a private fishery on the east side of the Wash, on the west Norfolk coast, that dates back to 1761.

Mr Loose claimed the fishermen were breaching his exclusive right to takeshellfish found on former sandbanks that had silted up and become attached to the foreshore. He argued they were legally part of the fishery.

Mr Loose sued the fishermen and the High Court ruled in November 2012 that they must pay damages. The Court of Appeal upheld that decision in a June 2014 ruling.

But five Supreme Court justices have now ruled the estate's right to fish didnot extend to sandbanks which have over decades become attached to theforeshore.

The judges dismissed appeals by the fishermen over the extent of the seaward boundary of the fishery, but allowed their appeal "in relation to previously detached sandbanks".