Farmer who damaged River Lugg released from prison after three months

A farmer who committed "grand scale vandalism" on the River Lugg in Herefordshire has been released from prison after fewer than three months.

John Price, from Kingsland, was jailed for 12 months in April after he admitted seven charges of damaging parts of the river.

He illegally ripped up trees from the banks and failed to stop pollution getting into the water.

His sentence was reduced to 10 months after an appeal in May.

At the time Judge Nicholas Cole said he "turned a beautiful, meandering river full of wildlife into a canal"

Price, from Day House Farm, underwent a tough risk assessment before he was approved for a "Home Detention Curfew" with strict rules in place, a spokesperson for the Prison Service said.

If those rules were broken, the 68-year-old would be returned to jail, they added.

During sentencing, the court heard how Price hired diggers and bulldozers to illegally remove dozens of trees from the banks of the River Lugg.

He also used gravel from the riverbed to make a horse exercise yard for his partner and a roadway on his farm.

Price said he thought he was helping his neighbours to avoid flooding but the judge said it was "nothing to do with a reduction in flooding - the experts believe it will make the impact of flooding worse".

The farmer was also ordered to pay the bill to restore a one-mile (1.6km) stretch of the river which the Environment Agency said could cost about £700,000.

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