A COMPANY which owns a North Yorkshire pig farm was fined £4,000 with £2,022 costs after admitting a pollution incident which killed more than 100 fish.

Joseph E Swiers Ltd, of Norton-le-Clay, near Helperby, pleaded guilty at York Magistrates Court to allowing pig slurry to enter the River Foss contrary to the Water Resources Act 1991.

The court heard that on October 9 last year, Environment Agency officers went to Marton Park Farm, near Stillington, and found dead trout in the Rover Foss.

The river was dark brown in colour and smelled of animal waste.

The source of the pollution was traced to Woodfield Farm where a nearby field had recently been spread with slurry.

On October 10, officers returned to the farm and found a coloured discharge coming from a nearby land drain outfall, samples of which were taken for analysis.

Officers visited the farm the following day and spoke to the farm manager, who told them that Joseph E Swiers owned the farm and that the field had been spread with slurry from the farm on October 8.

Timothy Swiers, a company director, was interviewed about the incident and he confirmed that the field had been spread with about 25,000 gallons of slurry, but said the company was unaware of the existence of the field drain.

It is estimated that about 120 fish were killed, including brown trout, over a four kilometre stretch of the watercourse.

Leonore Gilligan, Environment Agency environment protection officer, said: "This case illustrates how important it is for farmers to follow the Code of Good Agricultural Practice.

"Preparing farm waste management plans that highlight high risk areas for pollution would avoid incidents of this nature occurring.

"Any farmers seeking advice on disposal of their wastes can contact their local Environment Agency office."