Slurry from Bycott Farm near Tiverton ran into a stream causing pollution for at least 2 months, a court heard on Thursday 11 January. Handing down sentence, the judge said £900,000 had since been spent on infrastructure by the company as a result of the case.

The company, Bycott Farms Ltd, of Halberton, appeared before Exeter Magistrates where it admitted 2 charges. The charges related to polluting a watercourse and disposal of controlled waste in a manner likely to cause environmental pollution or harm to human health. It was fined a total of £4,300 and ordered to pay costs totalling £1,765, plus a victim surcharge of £190.

The court heard that investigating officers from the Environment Agency found that a ditch leading to a tributary of the Spratford stream was polluted. They traced the pollution to a pipe discharging into the ditch and also dirty water flowing across a nearby field.

The officers met with farm owners, father and son Stephen and Tom Dibble. Stephen Dibble confirmed that water from the yards between the cattle sheds drained to the pipe seen by the officers.

Water contaminated with slurry was running into surface water drains connected with the pipe discharging to the stream. Slurry was also running off the yard and mixing with effluent from an improperly constructed silage clamp. Subsequently flowing several hundred metres across land into the water course.

Officers returned the following day, but found contaminated water was still running into the ditch. Further investigations 2 months later found polluted water flowing into the ditch. Thick sewage fungus was visible in the watercourse for more than 2 kilometres downstream. There was also evidence of burning of controlled waste at the farm, including plastics, paint tins, and a medical sharps bin.

During an interview with the Environment Agency, Stephen Dibble, director of the company, said the dairy herd had increased in size in recent years to over 1,000 cows. He did not think he needed to notify the Agency of increased silage clamp facilities. He accepted that slurry and silage effluent was running into the ditch from the clamp and the yard. He also accepted that routine checks for problems with infrastructure that could cause pollution were not carried out and reluctantly agreed that waste was being burnt.

In handing down the sentence, District Judge Smith said £900,000 had since been spent on infrastructure by the company as a result of this case.

Mischka Hewins for the Environment Agency said following the case:

“This is an example of a farm causing pollution to our rivers. The farm owners failed to take action to stop the pollution even when it had been brought to their attention. We hope the fine issued by the court will serve as a warning to others to ensure their farms are not damaging the environment.”