River Lugg damage caused by convicted farmer to cost £700k to fix

The court was shown photographs taken before and after the damage

Fixing damage caused by a farmer who illegally ripped up trees from the banks of a river may cost about £700,000, the Environment Agency says.

John Price admitted seven charges of damaging parts of the River Lugg in Herefordshire, including failing to stop pollution entering the water.

On Thursday he was sentenced to 12 months in prison.

The court told the 68-year-old he must foot the bill of restoration work, which will include replanting trees.

John Price admitted seven charges and was sentenced to 12 months in jail

Price, of Day House Farm, Kingsland, hired diggers and bulldozers to illegally remove trees along the riverbanks in what a judge at Kidderminster Magistrates' Court described as "ecological vandalism on an industrial scale".

The court heard Price believed he was trying to help the village and deal with storm damage.

The Environment Agency said it might take decades to re-establish mature trees to provide the stability, cover and shade required to restore the diversity of the river.

Price, who will have to pay more than £1.2m in costs, will have to work with Natural England to ensure the restoration works are complied with.