TWO farmers, one of whom had cattle infected by foot and mouth, have been fined after they drained slurry into a stream and caused the death of 2,700 fish.

Michael Cornthwaite, of Close Hall Farm, Bolton-by-Bowland, and Andrew Long, of Hayber Farm, Skipton, were both fined £500 and ordered to pay £1,000 costs after a prosecution brought by the Environment Agency.

Blackburn magistrates also gave Brian and James Booth, of Raygill Moss Farm, Bolton-by-Bowland, a 12 month conditional discharge.

Mr Cornthwaite's wife Anne had her charge withdrawn.

The fish, including trout, chub, bullheads, stoneloach and minnows, died of oxygen starvation in two Bolton-by-Bowland streams called Gill Bottom Beck and Kirk Beck.

The court found that too much slurry and effluent had been spread onto the fields and had found its way into the drainage systems of Mr Cornthwaite and the Booth's farms last August.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said they were unrepentant about pursuing the prosecution in the midst of foot and mouth disease. Foot and Mouth disease infected Mr Cornthwaite's farm at the end of May. The spokesperson said: "We are sympathetic to the plight of those, in both farming and other industries, who have suffered due to the outbreak of foot and mouth. "However, environmental crime is a serious matter and the Environment Agency has a policy of prosecuting those responsible. We cannot undertake to differentiate between industry sectors, on the basis of their economic position, before deciding on appropriate enforcement action."

Mr Cornthwaite said he was considering an appeal and that he believed he had not been negligent. He said: "The environment agency have their job to do so at the moment I will have to live with it.

"We did everything possible when we found out what had happened. There was no negligence whatsoever.

"It was just a one-off incident."

The court heard that Environment Agency Protection Officers found cow slurry polluting Kirk Beck on August 11, 2000.

They traced the polluted water to Gill Bottom Beck and found that the slurry had come from a field of Mr Cornthwaite's Close Hall Farm.

Environment Agency Officers reported that the amount of dead worms indicated that too much slurry had been applied to the field by contractor Andrew Long.

The field's drains were discharging slurry into the streams.

The court heard that Mr Cornthwaite had failed to inform Mr Long that a new drainage system has been installed.

While checking this area the officers discovered a nearby field discoloured yellow and containing dying vegetation. It was found that father and son Brian and James Booth had spread 14,000 gallons of farm effluent -- a mix of silage liquor and liquid slurry -- on the field the previous week. Officers judged this to be an additional source of the pollution.

It was found that oxygen levels in the stream had decreased from 80 per cent to 6.1 per cent in the small stream and 12.4 per cent in Kirk Beck, levels which killed the fish.