Furious River Weaver campaigners have hit out after farm workers were caught on camera in Audlem washing thousands of litres of slurry into drains.
Environmental groups fear the slurry will now be washed into the nearby River Weaver, causing more pollution and fish deaths.
The workers are caught on a door camera brushing and hosing the slurry spillage down drains at the side of the road in the village.
It’s believed the incident happened when a sprayer malfunctioned as a tractor drove through the village, accidentally spraying slurry over garden walls, driveways and doors and windows.
It has been reported to the Environment Agency to investigate.
Now it has emerged plans to re-stock the River Weaver with 8,000 fish after pollution incidents in 2023 has been postponed over fears this latest slurry spill will lead to more fish deaths.
A spokesperson for Restore The Weaver campaign group in Nantwich said: “The video shows the farmer rapidly trying to wash away the slurry spill in Audlem straight into the drains which will go straight to pollute the River Weaver!
“They would have been much better to report it to the @EnvAgencyNW for them to seal the drains and tanker it all away.
“Authorities believe that over 20,000 litres of slurry have gone down the drains in Audlem.
“This is all headed to the Upper River Weaver, again, just as the river was due to be restocked following the last slurry incident in Oct 2023.
“We’ve reported to the Environment Agency as all that slurry pollution will be going down the drains and ending up in the River Weaver one way or another. A good chance it’ll wipe out any remaining fish in the river following last years major slurry spill.”
A spokesperson for Nantwich Angling Society, who helped coordinate the re-stocking of the river which was due to take place tomorrow (February 15), said: “The Environment Agency told me they’re postponing the stocking due to the agricultural pollution incidents. We’re very angry.”
An Environment Agency spokesperson told Nantwich News: “Our officers are on site today investigating a suspected pollution incident near the River Weaver, Nantwich.
“We thank the members of the public who reported this incident to us and anyone who suspects pollution or other incidents in rivers and other waterways should contact the Environment Agency’s 24-hour incident hotline immediately on: 0800 807060.
“After careful consideration we are disappointed to cancel planned fish stocking of the River Weaver due to a suspected pollution incident.
“The health of fish and their environments remains our priority and anyone who suspects pollution or other incidents in rivers and other waterways should contact the Environment Agency’s 24-hour incident hotline immediately on: 0800 807060.”
A spokesperson for Cheshire East Council said: “We were alerted to this incident by Cheshire police and a highways team attended to assess the situation. However, a local farmer dealt with the clean-up, and we were not required to take any further action.
“Any enquiries about potential pollution of waterways should be directed to the Environment Agency, however, we will investigate our own drainage system to check for any blockage or contamination.”
Restore The Weaver was set up in 2023 following a number of pollution issues in Nantwich.
It is a group of more than 1,000 residents “dedicated to the restoration of the Upper Weaver from Church Minshull to the headwaters in the Bickerton Hills”.
This as happened many time over the years but nothing has ever been done
Same old story
The farmer that actually caused the spillage is the one to prosecute, it’s a case of an untrained operator or one of those lads that never look behind them that are at fault. Could also be faulty equipment, but if a truck had done this there would be hell to pay.
Nothing will happen though as most “farmers” like to get themselves involved with the local parish councils, just in case something like this happens…….if you know what it mean.
This farmer MUST be prosecuted over this!
The dirty b@#*?@d
This is a prosecutable offence. See below as an example.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/farming-business-fined-after-land-spreading-pollutes-stream
The evidence should lead to priority investigation by The Environment Agency. This should lead to prosecution and the full sanction of the law. it is simply not acceptable.