Historic site guilty of fish kill

Tree-felling during very wet conditions allowed highly polluting soil sediment to enter a watercourse at the Cowdray Estate in West Sussex, killing about 4,000 fish at a nearby fish farm

Worthing magistrates’ court heard that Environment Agency officers found significant pollution by sedimentation when they visited the fish farm in July last year.

They traced the source to Verdley Wood, where estate staff were engaged in forestry activities. The officers stopped all activity and instructed the estate to install siltation traps in the watercourse to minimise further pollution.

The owners of the estate, the Cowdray family, apologised for the incident. Magistrates acknowledged that the estate had worked with the agency throughout, but said it was careless in carrying out tree-felling in such extreme rainfall. The estate was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £10,596 costs.