Herefordshire farmer jailed for damaging protected River Lugg

A Herefordshire potato, beef and cereal farmer has been jailed for 12 months for damaging a protected stretch of the River Lugg.

John Price, 68, has also been disqualified from acting as a company director for three years.

The Environment Agency estimated Mr Price caused £600,000 worth of damage after he used a bulldozer to reprofile the river and its banks in Kingsland, near Leominster.

See also: Farmer pleads guilty to damaging River Lugg

Sentencing Mr Price at Kidderminster Magistrates Court on Thursday 20 April, Judge Ian Strongman said the sentence should act as a deterrent to others. He recommended the defendant should spend at least six months of his sentence in jail.

Mr Strongman said the farmer’s actions had turned a stretch of traditional tree-lined river, which has protected status as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI), into “a canal devoid of life”, adding that “it is ecological vandalism on an industrial scale”.

Mr Price, from Day House Farm, Kingsland, who has assets valued in the region of £21m and £25m, was ordered to pay prosecution costs of £600,000 and a further £655,000 for an agreed plan of river restoration works.

Last May, Mr Price pleaded guilty to seven out of 10 charges brought against him by the Environment Agency (EA) and Natural England (NE) related to “unconsented operations and causing damage to a site of special scientific interest”.

© Richard Stanton

Bulldozers used

The court heard the farmer used heavy machinery including bulldozers and excavators to dredge and reprofile a 1.5km stretch of the River Lugg, destroying the riverbed and banks.

Mr Price, who owns land on either side of the protected river, said he carried out the works to ease flooding, following a meeting with a local parish councillor and a local EA official.

However, a joint investigation by the EA and NE found he had carried out the works between November 2020 and December 2021 without consents.

Mr Price was issued with a stop notice by NE on 2 December 2020, but the work did not stop and carried on into 2021.

© Richard Stanton

John Farrer, defending, told the court Mr Price has autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which can cause him to act angrily. He said his client mistakenly believed he was helping the village deal with storm damage and prevent flooding of local properties.

The EA said the Lugg had 121 river plant species, and damage to the river and banks had removed the habitats of species including common otter, kingfishers, Atlantic salmon and white clawed crayfish, as well as destroying trees, aquatic plant life and invertebrates.

The agency estimates it will take decades to re-establish mature trees to provide the stability, cover and shade to restore the diversity of the river. Populations of fish, plants, native crayfish and birds may also take years to return to previous levels.

© Environment Agency

EA reaction

Commenting on the sentencing, an EA spokesperson said: “The River Lugg is one of the most iconic rivers in the UK and to see this wanton destruction take place was devastating.

“This is why we have used our powers as regulators to see that justice was done and to act as a stark warning to others that we will take the strongest action against those who do not respect the laws that protect the environment and wildlife we all cherish.  

“We want to ensure that Mr Price now takes the necessary actions which we hope, in time, will restore this much-loved stretch of river to its former condition.”