A farming contractor has been charged after people with jobs in environment and sustainability discovered the firm had polluted a river with waste.
Michael Tucker was ordered to pay £10,000, following an investigation led by the Environment Agency in March 2009.
They discovered that the chemicals a tractor driver had been spreading in a field on Pirzwell Farm, Devon, had leaked into the River Ken at Stowford Water.
There was a hole in the pipe used to spread the waste, which was being used as fertiliser at the farm.
People with environment and sustainability jobs stopped the driver from spreading any more chemicals as they contained high levels of ammonia, which results in a drop in oxygen levels and can be dangerous for any aquatic life in the water.
Michael Tucker was also found guilty of spreading slurry at Edgeworthy Farm, Tiverton, which heavy rain caused to wash into a nearby watercourse.
Matt O'Brien, of the Environment Agency, said: "The defendant took a gamble and spread slurry knowing full well there was a high risk of rain."
This comes just a month after an agricultural contractor was fined £5,000 for dumping rubbish at a field in Dartmoor National Park.
Posted by Oliver Mycock
