The woman, Anne Matonga, in her early 30s, screamed at Monica Schultz: "We are taking back the land you stole from us!"

Matonga is married to Bright Matonga, 35, a Zimbabwean propagandist. He worked as a sports reporter in London for the BBC but was recently recalled to Zimbabwe at the behest of Information Minister Jonathan Moyo to work for the state-controlled Herald newspaper, then the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation before being put in charge of the national bus company.

Vincent Schultz had been wrongfully arrested as the seizure of his farm had been ruled invalid on a legal technicality. Nevertheless, he was still in prison, pending a bail application, and his wife was alone on the farm on Sunday when the Matongas arrived and began hurling abuse at her.

"She [Anne Matonga] was rude, saying we had stolen her land. I thought it strange as she was white, and looked and sounded British," Monica Schultz said on Thursday.

Schultz was released without charges being laid on Monday when a magistrate ruled that he had not defied an eviction order to leave his farm by August 8, as decreed by President Robert Mugabe's government.

Then on Tuesday, Bright Matonga returned to the farm - this time with members of Mugabe's militia. "He told us he was pissed-off, very pissed-off, to find us still at home," Schultz said. "He threatened to return with a battalion. The police advised us to leave."

Police had a list of wanted farmers at a roadblock on Thursday, and Schultz feared, after his eviction in the morning, that he would be picked up again. The final straw for the distraught couple came when notorious militant, Joseph Chinotimba, who together with "war veterans" invaded foreign companies in Harare last year, arrived on the farm with Matonga and told workers they no longer worked for Schultz.

Schultz, 57, and his wife fled the farm in terror and are sheltering at neighbours. They both wept as they wondered what the future held for them.

Schultz said: "We will have to leave. I want peace. Out of Africa. Somewhere where Monica and I can relax and lead a family life, without our ears being tuned for vehicles, for shouting. It's madness, it's a nightmare.

"Living on a farm today is stressful . . . You are the head of the family, the head of the farm, you have to show your face, but when there are 300 people at your gate . . . Do you know how terrifying it is to walk down to your gate?

"I want somewhere I can go with my family, and have law and order."

Monica Schultz, who was born on the farm she has been forced to leave, said: "If peace prevailed we would love to stay on the farm, to grow old and die there. And we have a lot of workers there, some lovely people who worked for my mother, have been there for 50 odd years. Now they have literally nothing."

Forced to stop growing crops nearly two years ago by Mugabe's supporters, the farming couple were restricted to growing roses in greenhouses.

The 11 million roses annually exported to Amsterdam won't be picked again.

Some of the 135 permanent workers have fled the farm.

Matonga, who has a BSc (Hons) in Media Production and Technology from London's Greenwich University, has left militia to guard his new farm.

The Matongas were not available for comment.