Fish plan caused river 'disaster'

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Plans to convert an overgrown reservoir into a private fishing pond for one of the UK's richest men sparked an ecological disaster, a court has heard.

Property mogul Paul Thwaites, 55, had hoped to create the private fishery on the Dunira Estate, in Perthshire.

However, contractor Richard Philp, 50, admitted inundating a tributary of the River Earn with silt after driving a digger through the reservoir wall.

Perth Sheriff Lindsay Foulis deferred sentence on Philp for reports.

The court heard the damage caused by the work led to one of the worst pollution incidents ever recorded by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa).

Philp, from Milnathort in Kinross, had worked as a fishery manager in the past and had set himself up as a consultant.

The whole loch was emptied into the river, carrying a whole lot of silt. He did it once, but will never go near a project of this nature again John Bain, defending

He was hired by Mr Thwaites, whose £180m fortune ranks him the 397th richest person in the UK, to oversee the project to convert a reservoir on his £5.5m estate into a private fishery.

However, Philp had simply smashed through the reservoir wall with a digger and caused the water to empty into a tributary and then the River Earn in March last year.

As a result, a thousand tonnes of silt poured into the fresh water and destroyed vital spawning grounds for brown trout, sea trout and salmon. A total of 15 kilometres of river was affected.

The court was told that the full scale of the ecological impact would not be known for several years, but whole generations of fish might have been lost as a result.

Fiscal depute Janine Bates said: "The reservoir had been drained of water. The ecology had been severely affected. This is one of the worst incidents Sepa officers in Perth have dealt with."

'Pear-shaped'

She said that as a result of the reservoir breach, the polluted water had 237 times more silt in it than a sample taken from an unaffected part of the river.

She added: "It was entirely foreseeable that works in the reservoir would result in the release of suspended solids unless prior plans were put in place.

"No consideration was given to pollution prevention measures. He also appears to have been completely ignorant of controlled activities regulations."

Solicitor John Bain, defending, said the project had gone "pear-shaped" for his client.

He added: "The whole loch was emptied into the river, carrying a whole lot of silt. He did it once, but will never go near a project of this nature again. He is extremely sorry for what has happened here."

Sheriff Lindsay Foulis described the impact as "disastrous" and said it would be significant along a lengthy stretch of the River Earn. He deferred sentence for social background and community service reports.