Furious Norfolk farmers will gather in London next week to rally public support and lobby MPs for the reversal of a "devastating" inheritance tax raid.

Thousands of the nation's farmers are expected to hit the streets of the capital on November 19 to make their voices heard against controversial changes announced in the budget.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said agricultural property relief (APR) would be cut for farm assets worth over £1m, leaving family businesses facing a 20pc tax bill when land is handed down to future generations - potentially forcing many to quit the industry.

It provoked an angry reaction from rural businesses - and prompted the launch of the EDP's "Fair deal for farmers" campaign, calling for the changes to be scrapped.

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) is holding a mass lobby of MPs on Tuesday, with 1,800 members gathering in Westminster as part of efforts to force a government rethink.

And a separate rally, taking place on the same day in central London, has had to move location because of growing support from farmers, with organisers saying it will now take place on Whitehall, opposite Downing Street.

Organisers say the rally aims to send a message in the heart of London that family farms and the rural community “stand united against the government’s catastrophic budget”.

Norfolk farmer David Hill is organising a coach trip to the rally from his family farm at Bradenham, near Dereham. Around 30 farmers have already secured a seat.

Mr Hill said: "This is the most serious thing that has happened in Norfolk agriculture in the last 50 years.

"There have been things in the past that we have got wound up about, but we have never seen anything as bad as this. It is really, really serious.

"The government have no idea what they have done, not the faintest idea. To say it won't affect most farms is rubbish, it will affect the majority of farmers. We have an ageing farming population and we have been told for years that APR will be OK, and now they have changed the rules and whacked a great big tax on it.

"It is not sustainable. We cannot possibly pay that and stay in business. As far as £1m goes, that will buy a combine and a couple of tractors, and a 100-acre farm is not viable anyway. 

"To do what they have done shows a distinct lack of understanding." 

While the procession to Parliament Square will be spearheaded by children on toy tractors, organisers have told those coming to the rally they should not bring their farm machinery.

Anyone planning to attend is also asked to register online first so organisers can work with the Metropolitan Police on managing numbers and communicating itineraries.

Although the NFU is not organising the rally, a union spokesman said "we wish them well in a respectful event that gets their voices heard", adding: "We urge anyone attending to show off the very best of British agriculture and our deeply held values of trust and respect which runs through the veins of our rural communities."

Meanwhile, another Norfolk farmer is among the 1,800 attending the NFU's separate mass lobbying event.

NFU Norfolk council representative Nick Deane, who farms near Hoveton, said it will be a "key moment" to emphasise the “devastating” impact on family farms.  

“As farmers, we will bring our own personal stories to our MPs," he said.

“We will help them to understand the real-life impact of these decisions and why they need to be reversed. 

“The government has massively miscalculated the impact changes to APR to BPR [Business Property Relief] on our farms – it could be devastating. 

“Many family farms have been feeding the nation for generations, and when the younger generation want to take that family farm on, they will be forced to sell-up just to pay the tax bill, damaging both the rural economy and its structure, as well as removing the positive environmental work farmers are now doing to protect the countryside.

"The mass lobbying event will be an opportunity for farmers here in Norfolk and across the country to stand up and be heard and stop this destructive family farm tax from going ahead."

The government has continued to defend the changes to inheritance tax. 

Environment secretary Steve Reed, speaking in a Commons debate, told MPs: "Three quarters of farmers will pay nothing as a result of these changes, family farming will continue into future generations, just as it should do."

But farmers have challenged the Treasury figures, pointing instead to Defra data suggesting 66pc of farm businesses are worth more than the £1m threshold at which inheritance tax will now need to be paid.

The NFU also argues that few viable farms are worth under £1m. 

Farmers interested in joining David Hill's coach trip to the London rally can contact him on 07850 913645.