On 7 March 2017 at Nuneaton Magistrates’ Court, Michael Hawkeswood of Ealingham, Wilnecote was fined £286 for wilfully obstructing a constable in the execution of his duty, with costs of £172 and a victim surcharge of £30 imposed after a prosecution by the Environment Agency.

Mr Hawkeswood also faced charges of fishing without a rod licence, failing to state his name when addressed by an Environment Agency enforcement officer and using behaviour that is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress. Mr Hawkeswood received no additional penalty for these charges.

The offences took place on 21 August 2016 at Pooley Park Pools, Polesworth. Mr Hawkeswood was convicted in his absence.

Andrew Eardley of the Environment Agency said:

The majority of anglers fish legally and purchase a rod licence. With an annual licence costing £30 it seems ridiculous that anglers risk a significant fine.

The minority of anglers that fail to buy a rod licence are cheating their fellow anglers and the future of the sport. Rod licence cheats risk a criminal conviction, a significant fine and could lose their fishing equipment.

It’s good to see that the courts take instances of obstruction against enforcement officers seriously and that offenders are prosecuted.

Money from rod licence sales is invested in England’s fisheries and is used to fund a wide range of projects to improve facilities for anglers including protecting stocks from illegal fishing, pollution and disease; restoring fish stocks through re-stocking; eradicating invasive species; and fish habitat improvements. Rod licence money is also used to fund the Angling Trust to provide information about fishing and to encourage participation in the sport.

You need a valid Environment Agency Rod Licence to fish for salmon, trout, freshwater fish, smelt or eel in England. Buying a rod licence is easy, simply visit www.gov.uk/fishing-licences/buy-a-fishing-licence.

Anyone witnessing illegal fishing incidents in progress can report it directly to the Environment Agency hotline, 0800 80 70 60. Information on illegal fishing and environmental crime can also be reported anonymously to Crime stoppers on 0800 555 111.

More than 2,000 people in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire signed up for flood warnings in just two days when flooding threatened the east coast in January.

The number of local registrations jumped by 7 per cent, Environment Agency figures have shown.

Nearly all the new sign-ups occurred on Thursday 12th and Friday 13th January 2017 when forecasters predicted that high tides combined with weather conditions could cause widespread coastal flooding.

Fortunately the event passed without flooding any homes in either county, but the Environment Agency is reminding everyone to sign up, as figures show that only 18 per cent of the total number of properties at risk in the area are fully registered.

Anyone can check whether they are at risk and register for warnings by calling Floodline on 0345 988 1188. You can also make sure your contact details are up-to-date and choose how you’d prefer to be contacted – by mobile, text, landline or email – if flooding was expected.

Ben Thornely, Area Incident Manager, said:

We’re glad to see people listened to our advice during the surge. It means another 2,000 families will have early warning should flooding be expected – early warning that could give them extra time to protect themselves and their homes.

That’s why we’re encouraging everyone to sign up now – before the next surge or storm.

The service is free, and it’s the most simple, specific and timely way to find out when you’re at risk. You can tell us how best to reach you with vital information that’s updated every 15 minutes.

All it takes is a simple phone call or you can visit www.gov.uk/flood to find out more.

Notes for editors:

• In January, the amount of fully-registered properties increased by 7 per cent, from 28,500 to 30,500.

• However, only 18% (30,500) of the 169,500 of properties at flood risk in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire are registered with Floodline.

• People who proactively contact Floodline to provide their contact details and preferred method of contact are considered to be fully-registered.

The operator and the landowner of an illegal waste site in an Essex village have been ordered to pay a total of £66,493

Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard that 14,700 tonnes of inert waste was stored on land behind a residential address known as Gean Tree in Great Horkesley north of Colchester ‘grossly’ breaching a waste exemption and planning rules.

George Nicholas James Dench pleaded guilty to running the illegal site and failing to comply with an enforcement notice to remove the waste. He was ordered to pay a total of £32,895 in fines and costs by Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Monday (6 Mar).

Annette Ismay Williams, who owned the land pleaded guilty to allowing the illegal waste site to run and to failing to clear the land under an enforcement notice and has to pay a total of £33,598 fines and costs.

Mrs Miriam Tordoff, prosecuting for the Environment Agency, told the court the waste had been deposited there over 2.5 years.

Williams lives at the address with her partner and their son George Dench who sought out companies to dump the waste there. He was paid £64,704.

Mrs Tordoff said only certain relatively low risk activities can be covered by an exemption which sets out conditions that must be met at all times. These include not risking human health nor the environment, not causing a nuisance with noise or odours and not adversely affecting the countryside or places of special interest.

The exemption registered by Williams allowed the use of certain types of inert waste in construction and the limit for waste soils and stones was 1,000 tonnes in any 3 years. That target was reached in the first month.

A further exemption allowed the treatment of up to 5,000 tonnes of waste in any 3 years, providing it was also used on the same site and only stored for a year.

Dench told investigating officers he had brought the soils to the site to repair the bank of a lake there. Williams said she just did the admin work. Both said they did not know how many tonnes the exemption allowed for.

Dench said he had not taken in the soils for financial gain as he was now bankrupt and he had not taken in any more since.

Mrs Tordoff told magistrates that Environment Agency officers had advised and written to the 2 saying the site needed to be cleared and operated properly.

Between September 2012 and March 2015 the Agency received 34 complaints about activities at the site.

After the hearing Environment Agency Enforcement Team Leader Lesley Robertson said:

We advised the defendants several times against accepting any more soils at the site but they continued to take it.

The site is in a village close to other homes and operations there affected people living nearby.

Councillor Simon Walsh, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Environment and Waste, said:

This case is an example to show landowners that risk taking is not acceptable, whether it is a risk that concerns human health or the environment.

Owning a piece of land means accepting a responsibility to the surrounding area and all that resides there, be it business, homes or wildlife.

Notes for Editors:

Breakdown of costs and fines:

Dench: EA offence – fined £14,353 plus £8,103 (a share of the full costs)
ECC offence – fined £9,568 plus £750 costs

Williams: EA offence – fined £14,775 plus £8,103 (a share of the full costs)
ECC offence – fined £9,850 plus £750 costs

The Environment Agency is holding a public consultation in Wilton, near Salisbury, to explain how it plans to reduce flood risk to local homes and businesses.

The Environment Agency is keen for local people to share their views on its proposals and any experiences they have of flooding.

The consultation will take place on 10 March 2017 from 3pm to 7pm, at:

Mark Goldingay of the Environment Agency said:

This event is an ideal opportunity for people to learn about the Environment Agency’s latest plans for Wilton. Environment Agency officers will be on hand to explain the proposals and the steps people can take to prepare themselves against flooding. We’d like to hear the views of local residents and look forward to sharing ideas on how best to reduce flood risk in Wilton.

Wilton’s existing flood defences protect some areas in the centre of the town. There are 30 properties currently at risk of flooding from the nearby River Wylye. In large flood events, flood water can bypass the defences and flow across the recreational ground towards the Castle Lane area. Properties in Crow Lane are also at risk.

The proposed solution is to build a raised flood embankment around the edge of the recreational ground, joining the existing flood defences beside Wiley Terrace. The height of the flood bank will be approximately 0.5m above existing levels with shallow side slopes. An access ramp would be provided over the embankment. A flood wall is also being proposed to protect properties in Crow Lane.

The proposed scheme would help protect the 30 properties in the centre of Wilton currently at high risk of flooding.

The Environment Agency aims to secure funding and obtain planning permission for a suitable scheme by the autumn of 2017. It will then draw up a detailed design and carry out further public consultation before starting construction in early 2018. If all goes well, the new scheme should be completed by the summer of 2018.

5 Nottinghamshire anglers have been found guilty of fishing without a licence, resulting in penalties totalling £4,265 and criminal records.

Jake Munns and Jai Makanji of Nottingham, Keegan Lambert and Kieran Buxton of Mansfield, and Phillip Galley of Sutton-in-Ashfield were all found guilty of fishing illegally. They were caught at the Woodend Lakes in Huthwaite during a routine patrol carried out by Environment Agency bailiffs.

The Environment Agency carries out these routine patrols to ensure that the future of angling is protected for the vast majority of anglers who fish legally. With an annual rod licence valid from 1 April only costing £30, the offending anglers have been left several hundred pounds out of pocket by their actions.

The 5 offenders were tried on 2 March 2017 at Mansfield Magistrates’ Court. Fines totalled £3,300, but with £635 in costs as well as £330 in victim surcharges the total penalties amounted to £4,265.

Environment Agency enforcement officer Peter Haslock said:

This is an excellent result for the Environment Agency as well as for the hundreds of thousands of anglers who follow the rules.

These offenders could have saved themselves a substantial sum of money as well as a criminal record if they had bought the required licences. An annual rod licence that is valid from 1 April is available from just £30, so there really is no excuse.

The Environment Agency recently launched “Get a Fishing Licence” on GOV.UK to simplify the process of buying a fishing licence. This new webpage is part of a series of changes that have been made to improve the service. The improvements include:

• Free licences for junior anglers, up to the age of 17
• The fishing licence will now last for 12 months from the day it is bought rather than expire at the end of March every year. A standard year-long licence is available from £30.
• Anglers now need only one licence to use three rods, rather than the two licences that were needed previously.

All money raised through rod licence sales is used to support fish, fisheries and the angling sport. The Environment Agency’s activities to protect and improve fish and fisheries include protecting stocks from illegal fishing, pollution and disease, eradicating invasive species and improving fish habitats.

The Environment Agency urges people who suspect they may have been witness to, or have information of, illegal fishing to report illegal activity by calling its incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

ENDS

Notes for editors

• All five individuals in this case were prosecuted under Section 27(1)(a) of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975, for fishing for freshwater fish or eels by means of an unlicensed rod and line in a place where fishing is regulated.

• Jake Munns, of Worrall Avenue in Nottingham, who was proved guilty in absence, was fined £660 and ordered to pay costs of £127 as well as a victim surcharge of £66, making the total penalty £853.

• Jai Makanji, of Leivers Avenue in Nottingham, who was proved guilty in absence, was fined £660 and ordered to pay costs of £127 as well as a victim surcharge of £66, making the total penalty £853.

• Kieran Buxon, of Milton Street in Mansfield, who was proved guilty in absence, was fined £660 and ordered to pay costs of £127 as well as a victim surcharge of £66, making the total penalty £853.

• Keegan Lambert, of Stuart Avenue in Mansfield, who was proved guilty in absence, was fined £660 and ordered to pay costs of £127 as well as a victim surcharge of £66, making the total penalty £853.

• Phillip Galley, of John Street in Sutton-in-Ashfield, who was proved guilty in absence, was fined £660 and ordered to pay costs of £127 as well as a victim surcharge of £66, making the total penalty £853.