Farmer fined for breaching environmental legislation

A North Devon farmer has been fined for breaching environmental legislation following a slurry spill at a dairy farm in Hartland, near Bideford.

P&J Pengilly and Sons was forced to pay £6,177 in fines and costs after Environment Agency officers found a stream contaminated with farm waste, which they traced to St Clare's Farm in Hartland earlier this year.

According to the farmer responsible, the slurry store had over-spilled following a "surge" of waste.

But agency representative Phil Siddall said that the pollution occurred because the defendant had too many cattle at his farm and did not have adequate storage for the slurry and manure produced by the animals.

"He failed to follow the Code of Good Agricultural Practice or act on advice we gave after a similar pollution incident in 2005," he stated.

The Environment Agency is an executive non-departmental public body which is responsible to the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs.

Written by Lauren Steadman