A farmer from Gloucestershire has been ordered to pay more than £7,000 after slurry from his farm polluted the River Swilgate, killing fish and harming local wildlife.
Timothy Juckes, 48, who farms near Tewkesbury, admitted allowing slurry to enter the river due to a leaking pipe. The case, brought by the Environment Agency, was heard at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court on 29 September.
Juckes pleaded guilty to causing an unauthorised discharge of slurry on 14 and 15 November 2022. He was fined £1,086, ordered to pay £5,528.50 in costs, and a £434 victim surcharge — a total of £7,048.
The court was told the Environment Agency received reports of pollution at the farm on 16 November. Officers attending the scene found discoloured water, a strong slurry odour, and several dead fish.
Tests also showed oxygen levels in the river were low and ammonia levels had spiked. Juckes told investigators he had been transferring slurry between lagoons using a pipe that crossed the watercourse.
Normally he would suspend the pipe over the river, but on this occasion he avoided doing so to protect a wet, re-seeded field.
He also explained that placing the pipe across a nearby bridge would have blocked access for a stock box he needed for tending sheep.
An Environment Agency spokesperson described the pollution as “entirely preventable” and warned that “our officers will seek out farmers who ignore the regulations.”
They added: “This case has resulted in unacceptable pollution of a local brook, causing significant harm to fish and other aquatic wildlife.”
Juckes was prosecuted under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016, which prohibit discharging slurry into watercourses without the correct authorisation.
