Farmer jailed and ordered to pay £1.2MILLION as builders to rip up trees along river
21.04.2023 - 11:35
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A farmer who hired diggers and builders to illegally rip up trees in a beauty spot has been jailed and ordered to pay £1.2million in restoration costs.
John Price, 68, claimed he bulldozed the trees along the River Lugg near Leominster, Herefordshire, to protect homes from flooding. He used an 18-tonne digger to dredge a section of the river and stripped a mile-long stretch of the bank of trees in December 2020.
He claimed it was to protect locals in the nearby hamlet whose homes had been devastated by previous floods. Price was accused in court of damaging a protected Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and one of the UK’s most important salmon rivers.
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Natural England officials said the river had been "decimated" by the work which had led to a "devastating" effect on local wildlife and people living nearby. They said the habitats of "iconic wildlife" such as otters, kingfishers and salmon had also been destroyed along the 1.5-kilometre stretch of the river.
Price was found guilty of seven offences relating to breaching a Natural England stop notice at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court. On Thursday, he was jailed for 12 months and disqualified from being a company director for three years, reports the Mirror.
The cost of the damage to the River Lugg and the embankments amounts to £600,000, which he must repay in 12 months.
Sentencing, Judge Ian Strongman said: "Any person could not fail to be dismayed by the devastation caused by Mr Price - he has turned it into a canal devoid of most life. It is ecological vandalism on an industrial scale.
"It was a desire to reduce the risk of flooding. Some residents who live nearby are grateful to Mr