The grandson of an Italian prisoner of war, who established a £1.4 million Welsh dairy farm, has emerged victorious in a dispute with his millionaire uncle over the ownership of an award-winning herd of cows. Tony Hank, aged 60, found himself in court at odds with his 76-year-old uncle, Luigi Vasami, after their disagreement regarding the family business set up by Tony’s grandfather and Luigi’s father, Antonio Vasami, an Italian former prisoner of war. Antonio had worked on farms in west Wales after being captured in Libya by the Allies during World War II. He later returned to Wales and became a farmer in his own right. The Vasami family has been farming the land for four generations. What began as a five-acre rented holding with four gifted cows near Llandysul has grown into a thriving enterprise with several farm sites. In addition to selling milk to the general market, the family also supplied Luigi’s son, Tony Vasami, with milk to make homemade ice cream for his Italian restaurant, La Calabria, which is located in a converted milking barn on one of the farms. Antonio Vasami passed away in 1992, and since then, the family has been embroiled in a dispute despite having been “one big family” for many years. Following a trial at the High Court in Swansea, a judge has ruled in favor of Tony, allowing him to retain ownership of the 80 award-winning cows and their offspring that were legitimately transferred to him years ago. However, the judge rejected Tony’s claim that he had worked diligently from a young age on his uncle’s farm under the promise that he would one day inherit the £1.4 million farm. The judge determined that Tony had worked on the farm because of his “love” for it and had profited substantially from his involvement over the years, establishing that he had no rightful expectation of ownership. Antonio Vasami was serving in the Italian 10th Army when he was captured during the Battle of Tobruk in Libya. He was subsequently transported to the POW camp at Henllan Bridge, Carmarthenshire, where he remained for the duration of the war. After the war, Antonio returned to Calabria in southern Italy but found the circumstances difficult and chose to return to Wales with his family, including his young son Luigi, in the late 1940s. While in captivity, Antonio had worked on local farms near Llandysul, and upon his return to Wales, he was granted the tenancy of a five-acre smallholding and given four cows by a local farmer. Testimonies in court revealed that Luigi Vasami was approximately 16 years old when his baby nephew, Tony, came to live on the family farm. Luigi and his father both considered Tony as their own son. When Antonio Vasami retired, his son assumed responsibility for the farm business, with Tony assisting in milking the cows as well as undertaking various other tasks. As the business expanded, Luigi purchased the 93-acre Glasfryn farm in 1988, transferring the milking stock to be cared for by Tony, who also resided in the farmhouse. Tony went on to achieve success, with a portion of the herd leading the charts in the national milk records in the 2013 annual production report. The milk from the herd was used to create cheese and for the homemade ice cream served at Tony Vasami’s Italian restaurant. Tony and his wife, Arlene, became entitled to the farm’s profits after taking over the milking business and the 80-strong herd at Glasfryn. Despite feuding over business disagreements, Luigi offered to sell Glasfryn to Tony and Arlene for £1.4 million in 2021. Arlene Hack testified in court that the family had previously been like “one big family,” but the dynamic changed when Luigi requested money for the farm. Later that year, Tony and Arlene received a “notice to quit” from Luigi and his wife, Grazia, ordering them to vacate the farm. The dispute escalated, resulting in a court case where Luigi and Grazia demanded possession of the farm and the cows from Tony and Arlene. In response, Tony and Arlene argued that since Luigi bought Glasfryn, Tony had been assured that the farm would be his after Luigi’s retirement or death. They claimed that they occupied the farm under a “family arrangement” and not as tenants. As evidence, they referred to an exchange on a Welsh language TV show where Luigi stated, “I have passed that now to Tony because I have had enough of farming, to tell the truth.” They also asserted that Luigi had promised Tony the farm in his will. The judge ruled against Luigi and Grazia regarding ownership of the cows, stating that they had legitimately been transferred to Tony and Arlene. Consequently, Luigi and Grazia are permitted to evict Tony and Arlene from the land, but the cows will remain with Tony and Arlene.

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