Farm ordered to pay £18,000 after slurry pollutes Bristol Avon tributaries

A Wiltshire farming partnership has been ordered to pay more than £18,000 after two slurry pollution incidents contaminated tributaries of the Bristol Avon.

JD Spencer Farm Partnership, based at Manor Farm in Langley Burrell near Chippenham, was prosecuted by the Environment Agency following two pollution events in November 2023 and March 2024.

The partnership pleaded guilty to four offences at Swindon Magistrates’ Court on 6 March 2026.

It was fined £7,000, ordered to pay £8,944 in costs and given a £2,800 victim surcharge, bringing the total penalty to £18,744.

The court heard the farm faced two charges of illegal water discharge activities and two counts of failing to properly plan the spreading of slurry.

The first pollution occurred in November 2023 when slurry entered a tributary of the Bristol Avon.

Tests showed downstream water samples contained very low levels of dissolved oxygen and significant quantities of ammonia.

Low oxygen levels and ammonia can harm fish and other aquatic wildlife in rivers and streams.

During a formal interview, farm co-owner Winston Spencer denied he had recently spread slurry or pumped slurry from the farm’s lagoon onto fields.

However, he admitted that slurry and parlour washings stores were full and accepted that slurry run-off had occurred.

He suggested heavy rainfall had washed slurry from fields where it had been spread the previous month.

A second pollution event occurred in March 2024 when slurry entered another watercourse near Langley Burrell.

Environment Agency investigators began examining the case after receiving a report from a member of the public.

Officers traced the pollution along several connected watercourses.

They eventually identified the source as slurry deposits across three fields at Manor Farm.

Environment Agency officers also used drone footage to photograph areas where slurry had run off.

In a further interview, Mr Spencer admitted wet slurry had been deposited on the land and said he believed it had entered field drains before reaching the stream.

He also told investigators the partnership did not have land drainage plans for the fields involved.

Senior environment officer David Womack said the pollution could have been prevented.

“This incident was avoidable and should never have happened. Farmers have a responsibility to ensure their organic manures are properly stored and spread,” he said.

“If farmers have concerns about not having sufficient slurry storage capacity, we recommend they contact us. We can give advice on current legislation, help ensure slurry calculations are accurate and reduce the pollution risk by identifying non-compliant structures.”

He also urged farmers to report pollution incidents as soon as possible.

“If an incident does occur, we would urge those responsible to report it as soon as possible to the Environment Agency,” he said.

“This can help reduce any environmental impact.”

The Environment Agency said the case highlights the importance of proper slurry storage and spreading practices to prevent agricultural pollution.