THE Environment Secretary has personally intervened in a case that it is feared will leave a tenant farmer and his family homeless.
More than 13,000 people have signed an online petition in recent days calling for politicians to step in to prevent Andrew Stoddart being evicted from land he has farmed in East Lothian for more than 20 years.
Despite investing over £500,000 in the land, Mr Stoddart, his wife Claire an their four young children will be evicted by the end of the month after the landowner dissolved their agreement.
The Scottish Government said it had been attempting to facilitate mediation between landlords and tenants for some time, but that the environment secretary, Richard Lochhead, had now stepped in a bid to find a solution.
A spokeswoman added: "Given the urgency of this situation the Cabinet Secretary personally intervened recently when he spoke to Mr Stoddart and subsequently asked Government officials to consider urgently whether there are any practical steps we can take to help Mr Stoddart over the next few weeks, before his tenancy is due to come to an end on 28 November.
"As part of this consideration, and in response to the recent representations from stakeholders, the Government hosted a discussion on Monday with a range of interested parties, including STFA, to discuss ways to assist Mr Stoddart and we are exploring these with urgency."
It comes as the SNP faces growing pressure to adopt a more radical approach on land reform including offering tenant farmers a right to buy land. At its conference last month, SNP members refused to endorse the Scottish Government's Bill, which is currently making its way through Holyrood.
The online petition, which calls on Nicola Sturgeon to take action, states: "The Stoddart family are an integral part of the community. Andrew and Claire are well liked, and their 3 children go to the local school, as do the four children of their employees."
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