13-Jun-2006
- Companies across England and Wales were fined
and charged more than £100,000 by magistrates
courts in April and May for pollution incidents
which killed more than 5,500 fish. The prosecutions
were brought by the Environment Agency.
Spread along waterways in Wales,
the Manchester region, the Thames catchment and
southern counties, the six most serious pollution
prosecutions attracted £78,000 in fines
and £28,456 in court costs. While the majority
of fish killed were non-target species, up to
one thousand were brown trout.
The pollution incidents included:
Dwr Cymru Welsh Water was fined
£10,000 after sewage leaked from a public
sewer, contaminated a surface water discharge
and then entered the Nant Mychydd watercourse
at Llantrisant, Rhondda Cynon Taf. More than 800
fish were killed. Llwynypia Magistrates’ Court
also ordered the company to pay full costs of
£6,686.
Cable and Wireless Plc, based
in Swindon, was ordered to pay more than £29,500
by Swindon Magistrates Court on 10 April after
polluting a 14km stretch of Westlea Brook, the
River Ray and the River Thames on 23 January 2005,
with eight tonnes of red diesel. More than 2,000
fish died.
Lectros International Limited,
a chemical company, was fined £10,000 (plus
£4,354 costs) by Pennine Magistrates’ Court
on 8 May for polluting the River Irwell and Langwood
Brook with a mixture of fungicide and insecticide.
Thousands of minor species and 47 brown trout
died.
United Utilities Water Plc was
prosecuted for the third time this year after
admitting to polluting Rochdale’s River Beal with
sewage on Saturday 30 July 2005, killing hundreds
of brown trout. The company was fined £7,000
and ordered to pay £4,673 costs by Rochdale
Magistrates’ Court.
Southern Water Services Ltd
was fined £18,000 and ordered to pay £2,000
costs by Lyndhurst Magistrates Court on Friday
12 May 2006, for a sewage leak that killed hundreds
of fish in the Lymington River on Sunday 17 July
2005.
Southern Water Services Ltd
was again prosecuted for causing raw sewage to
pollute nearly 2km of Sunnyside Stream in East
Grinstead on 5 September 2005. The company was
fined £9,000 and ordered to pay £1,190
costs at Haywards Heath Magistrates Court. About
466 brown trout, 20 minnows, seven stoneloach
and one stickleback died.
National Press Office
