Spill farmer's bill tops £9,000

A Shropshire farmer who let slurry escape into a Market Drayton river killing more than 18,000 fish at a nearby fish farm will have to pay nearly £10,000.

Jamie Friend, director of Friend Farms Ltd, admitted the charge at Market Drayton Magistrates Court this week following problems at the River Tern.

Friend Farms Ltd was prosecuted by the Environment Agency under the Water Resources Act 1991 and on Monday magistrates fined the company £7,000.

The business was also ordered to pay £1,770.20 investigation costs and £552 legal costs.

Mr Dermot Scully, for the agency, told the court that on July 12 last year agency received a report from a Market Drayton fishery farm that the River Tern was a dark brown colour and smelled of cow slurry.

He said the officer inspected the river which feeds the fish farm and found the water to be polluted with what appeared to be cow slurry.

Mr Scully said:"Further investigations by the officer revealed nearby Oakley Park Farm, owned by Friend Farms Ltd, had been spreading slurry on a field at the farm earlier that day.

"It was during this operation that slurry ran over the surface of the field and entered streams feeding the River Tern."

On September 19 Mr Friend, director of Friend Farms Ltd, was interviewed by the Environment Agency, when he admitted responsibility for the pollution.

In mitigation, it was made clear to the court the defendant had co-operated with the Environment Agency throughout the investigation. Mr Friend also pointed out that all employees at the farm had been retrained in slurry spreading since the incident.