'I was in tears after neighbour dug up my land'

Andrea Marland said the illegal river digging had been going on for four years

A man has been told to stop illegally digging up part of a river by the Environment Agency after complaints by neighbours who had pleaded with him to stop.

Andrea Marland, who lives by the River Tonge in Bolton, Greater Manchester, said neighbouring landowner Sam Bancroft had dug away part of the riverbank belonging to her, destroying trees and wildlife in the process.

She was one of a group of people who had raised complaints about the work, which Mr Bancroft said was "essential" to protect his land from erosion.

Mr Bancroft declined to be interviewed by the BBC, but denied damaging the local wildlife, adding he had only cut down dead or dying trees.

The environmental watchdog said it had warned Mr Bancroft in 2021 and 2025 that he did not have the necessary flood risk activity permits to carry out the work.

Ms Marland, who has lived alongside the river in Tonge Moor for more than 30 years, said she was "devastated" after Mr Bancroft had dug away soil from part of the riverbank she owns.

"He's created a ramp so he can bring his digger down to the river and he's cut a 90m channel through my land," she said.

Videos recorded by Ms Marland appear to show Mr Bancroft using a small digger to take soil from her land and move it to the opposite riverbank which he owns.

"He's not asked for permission or given a reason why he's doing it," she said. "It seems he does what he wants and gets away with it."

Ms Marland said the digging had been going on for four years.

"When you can't get anywhere with anybody because nobody does what they're supposed to do, you're in tears, you're shaking and angry," Ms Marland said.

Ms Marland said a long channel had been cut through her land by Mr Bancroft

Residents claimed the work carried out by Mr Bancroft had destroyed healthy trees and damaged local wildlife habitats.

Christopher Banks, a wildlife campaigner in Bolton, claimed the digging had affected areas used by kingfishers.

"The problem is if you start digging out embankments, which kingfishers use as their main habitats, they will completely avoid this area", he said.

"That's a large amount of habitat that's now been null and void for the kingfisher to use in future."

Mr Banks said the digging was "unacceptable" and called on the Environment Agency to "take strong action" against Mr Bancroft.

Wildlife campaigner Christopher Banks said strong action needed to be taken over the illegal digging

Mr Bancroft claimed his work, to reinforce the riverbank he owned, had not affected anyone else's land.

He admitted to the BBC that he had been carrying out the digging without the necessary Environment Agency permits and said he could not afford them.

Mr Bancroft said he had stopped work in July 2025 when ordered to do so by an Environment Agency enforcement officer.

Another local resident, Pauline Riley, said she was "frustrated and annoyed" with the response from the Environment Agency.

"After four years of us telling them what he's done, they've done nothing. They've not even been down to the river to look at what he's done.

"They have no idea the damage he has done", she added.

The Environment Agency declined to respond to criticisms from residents, but said: "We take reports of unauthorised work in rivers seriously and will always investigate.

"Any confirmed unauthorised activity is assessed for potential harm to the watercourse and surrounding environment, and enforcement action will be taken where appropriate."