21/03/2005 - A Surrey
farmer was fined £1500 today (Monday
21 March) for polluting the Leigh Brook and
Henfold Lakes in Surrey, resulting in the
death of hundreds of fish.
Daniel Laker of Bregsells Farm, Beare Green,
Dorking, pleaded guilty to polluting the brook
and lakes on 2 April 2004 after a faulty seal
on a travelling irrigator at his farm led
to the discharge of farm effluent over a land
drain which leads to the Leigh Brook. He was
fined £1,500 and ordered to pay the
Environment Agency’s costs of £937.55.
The Environment Agency brought the case after
officers responded to reports of dead fish
at Henfold Lakes near Newdigate, south of
Dorking. On arrival it was clear that a number
of large fish, including carp and bream had
died, with many still in distress. Environment
Agency officers removed dead fish and dosed
the lake with hydrogen peroxide in order to
restore oxygen levels and restore water quality.
Investigations, including taking dissolved
oxygen readings and a visual inspection upstream
of the lake, revealed that the pollution was
caused by organic effluent which was discharged
from a travelling irrigator at Bregsells Farm.
Dorking Magistrates’ Court heard how a malfunction
of the irrigator, used to spread effluent
over fields, had resulted in the effluent
pouring into the ground at one location –
above a land drain. The travelling irrigator
was equipped with a safeguard to avoid pollution,
in the form of a low pressure switch on the
pump which should have cut off the flow should
the effluent feedpipe burst or come loose.
The feed chamber also had an alarm to draw
attention to a fall in pressure.
Mr Laker stated that in this case a loose
seal on the irrigator had caused a leak, resulting
in the pressure falling below the level required
to move the irrigator along, but not low enough
for the pump to switch off. The result was
that the irrigator remained in one place,
discharging the effluent over a land drain.
This drain leads to the Leigh Brook, which
in turn leads to Henfold Lakes.
Mr Laker was extremely remorseful at the
time of the incident, and has since arranged
for his insurance company to pay for the restocking
of fish at Henfold Lakes.
Environment Agency investigating Nick Dent
said: “This is the first time an incident
has been recorded at Bregsells Farm, and Mr
Laker was extremely co-operative. This was
an unfortunate incident which could have been
prevented with more stringent machinery checks
and monitoring of its operation. We would
urge anyone undertaking similar activities
to contact us on 08708 506 506 for more information
on how similar incidents can be avoided.”
Members of the public can report environmental
incidents to the Agency’s 24-hour emergency
hotline on 0800 60 70 80.
