FATHER and son farmers David and James Mitchell have been prosecuted separately for causing the pollution of watercourses near Wellington.

The pair, from Hillcommon, were between them fined and ordered to pay costs by magistrates in Taunton last week totalling more than £14,000.

David Mitchell, a potato farmer, caused silt, soil, and potatoes to escape from a field and seriously pollute a tributary of the River Tone on two occasions in August and September, 2022.

Pig farmer James Mitchell allowed slurry to escape from an illegally constructed slurry lagoon, causing pollution of the Oake Stream.

The prosecutions were brought by the Environment Agency, whose David Womack said: “James Mitchell is an experienced farmer and was made fully aware of his responsibilities and the laws regarding slurry storage, having contacted us before this needless incident occurred.

“Regulations on how to properly construct slurry stores and the need to notify the agency prior to constructing any new slurry store have been in place for more than 30 years.

“All farmers need to be aware of their legal responsibilities to prevent pollution events like this from happening.

“We will not hesitate to take action against those who cause pollution having failed to take on board our advice and guidance.

“I would strongly advise those who need advice or who think that their slurry storage facilities are too small or a pollution risk to contact us as we would prefer to prevent this type of incident from occurring in the first place.”

James Mitchell pleaded guilty to two offences and was fined £500 with a £200 surcharge and was ordered to pay £4,365 in investigation costs after credit was given for his admissions, and allowed 12 months to pay.

The court heard the agency visited Orchard Farm in 2021 at James Mitchell’s request and identified a slurry lagoon constructed without prior notification and with no details on how it had been correctly sized or engineered.

The visit had been to discuss proposed grant funding for roofing work which it was hoped would reduce the pollution risk.

The agency had no objections to roofing work being completed on the condition the slurry store was made compliant.

Then, in November, 2023, it received a report of pollution in Oake Stream and traced the source to Orchard Farm, where pig slurry was found overflowing from the slurry store and entering a soakaway which was connected to surface water drainage.

Mitchell co-operated with the officers and prevented further slurry entering the drains by building an earth bank which was later reinforced with clay.

A follow-up visit the next month revealed construction of the roof discussed in 2021 was underway, and it was completed by January, 2024.

David Mitchell pleaded guilty to one offence of causing silt laden water from a field under his control at Combe Florey to enter Back Stream and was fined and ordered to pay costs totalling £9,078, which was on top of £35,000 he had already paid in clean-up expenses.