Repeat Offender Fined for Serious Slurry Offences

Slurry offences have resulted in a farm partnership being ordered to pay £19,468 after improper slurry application caused several pollution incidents affecting a tributary of the River Yarty. Exeter Magistrates Court revealed that the D I & R Dyer (Farm Partnership), a family-operated business at Crawley Farm, Yarcombe, Devon, faced significant repercussions for their actions. Following the hearing on Wednesday, the farm received a fine of £6,600, a victim surcharge of £2,000, and was responsible for costs of £7,368 after admitting guilt to two pollution incidents that occurred in 2024 and 2025. Derek Dyer, 76, a partner in the farm, faced an additional fine of £2,500 and a victim surcharge of £1,000 for inadequately applying organic manure and for storing manure too near a watercourse, which increased pollution risks. The farm's history of environmental offences includes prior warnings and advice from the Environment Agency. In 2024, Derek Dyer received a community order for contaminating a private water source and polluting a stream due to the collapse of a slurry store constructed from farmyard manure. He also has a past conviction from 2009 related to similar misconduct. The judge noted that the farm has yet to construct a permitted slurry store approved in January 2025. **First Incident** A public complaint on May 1, 2024, alerted authorities to the inappropriate spreading of slurry and manure across five fields rented in Street Ash, Somerset. Environment Agency officers responded and discovered that the fields were excessively saturated, with water runoff flowing into a ditch and subsequently into a tributary of the River Yarty. The fields had been oversaturated with slurry for three weeks throughout April and May. The Farming Rules for Water state that farmers should spread manure according to the crop and soil needs, while taking precautions to reduce pollution risks; spreading on waterlogged land is explicitly prohibited. Officers detected high ammonia levels and noted that the watercourse was discolored and had a strong slurry smell. **Second Incident** In a subsequent incident on May 20, 2025, Environment Agency monitors recorded elevated ammonia levels in the River Yarty, prompting an inspection of Crawley Farm. Slurry was being improperly pumped and discharged from a pipe directly onto a field instead of into a designated slurry store. Silage effluent was also escaping from silage clamps and entering the tributary. The tributary exhibited a significant presence of sewage fungus, indicating harm to aquatic invertebrates and other wildlife. During the inspection, officers found a pile of farmyard manure located less than 10 meters from the watercourse, lacking any measures to collect runoff. Organic manure storage must be maintained at least 10 meters from waterways. An Environment Agency spokesperson commented, "This farm's reckless approach to storing and spreading manure resulted in two serious pollution incidents and poses even greater environmental threats. Derek Dyer has disregarded the lessons from multiple prior prosecutions and warnings over nearly 20 years. Today's ruling illustrates our commitment to prosecuting repeat offenders who ignore Environment Agency guidance." For more information on environmental regulations, visit the [Environment Agency](https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency). Learn about slurry management at the [UK Farming website](https://www.farminguk.com/). For more related articles, check out [www.globemigrant.com/articles](https://www.globemigrant.com/articles) and [www.globemigrant.com/resources](https://www.globemigrant.com/resources). Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/repeat-polluter-pays-out-over-slurry-offences

Repeat Offender Fined for Serious Slurry Offences

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