A FARM company has been ordered to pay £1,848 in fines and costs after waste water escaped into a Devon stream killing dozens of fish.

On June 27, 2009, officers from the Environment Agency were called to the River Dalch to investigate a pollution incident.

The officers found a number of dead fish, mainly brown trout and bullheads, in the river at Hele Bridge near Black Dog, Crediton.

The pollution was traced to Higher Henceford Farm where a field had been recently irrigated with dirty water from a large dairy unit.

The dirty water entered the Henceford Stream via two field drains and then into the River Dalch, a tributary of the Lapford Yeo River and River Taw.

Agency officers found a "significant quantity" of sewage fungus in Henceford Stream, a clear indicator of organic pollution.

They also saw a dark green liquid discharging from a nearby land drain and also reported that there was a strong smell of slurry.

In a court case brought by the Environment Agency, the court heard the Rivers Dalch, Lapford Yeo and Taw support a healthy fish population including salmon and sea trout and that the Henceford was an important feeder stream.

A total of 150 dead fish including brown trout, bullheads, stoneloach and minnow were found on the stretch of the River Dalch between Canns Bridge and the pollution discharge point.

Standon Holsteins Ltd, of Windemarsh Street, Hereford, Herefordshire was fined £600 and ordered to pay £1,248 costs by Honiton magistrates last month, after pleading guilty to causing polluting matter, namely dirty water, to enter the Henceford Stream and the River Dalch from land at Higher Henceford Farm near Black Dog, Crediton contrary to Section 85(1) of the Water Resources Act 1991.

Following the case, Andrew Leyman, for the Environment Agency, said: "Farmers must take extra care when irrigating land with dirty water and ensure it does not escape into local watercourses.

"These liquids are highly polluting and kill fish by removing oxygen from the water and adding ammonia."