A COMPANY that polluted nearly 5km of the River Mole, the principal tributary of the River Taw has paid £18,000 in damages to local angling clubs and fishery owners following a legal claim. 

In July 2019 liquid anaerobic digestate deposited by agricultural contractors AJ Sing and Sons Ltd on fields north of South Molton entered the river, causing what was described by one Environment Agency officer as the worst fish kill they had seen in 30 years. 

An estimated 15,600 fish died as a result of the pollution, including juvenile salmon, adult brown trout, sea trout and juvenile brown trout.

Represented by Fish Legal, the anglers’ damages claim followed a criminal prosecution brought by the Environment Agency (EA) where the company and an employee were fined a total of just £2,667 at Exeter Magistrates Court on July 28, 2021. 

The anglers are donating all of the damages to help fund projects run by the Westcountry Rivers Trust (WRT) in co-ordination with River Taw Fisheries and Conservation Association (RTFS) that improve and restore the habitat and spawning potential of the River Mole, giving fish populations the best chance of recovery.