11 anglers fined on Buckinghamshire-Berkshire border
£2,000 in fines dwarf price of licence for illegal fishermen from across England
On patrol with police. The Environment Agency works with police, the Angling Trust and fishing clubs to target illegal fishing, which can lead to a fine of £2,500. File pic.
Some were local, and others came from as far away as Kent, the Midlands and Manchester, but 11 men have been fined almost £2,000 for fishing illegally near Slough.
Many of the anglers were caught at Farlows Lake in Iver. All were found out through the work of fisheries officers from the Environment Agency.
Alfred Ball, of Lasswade Road, Chertsey, in Surrey, was fined £220 for the offence at Black Potts Weir on the Jubilee River at Eton on 21 July last summer. Costs of £135 were awarded against the 30-year-old, whose guilt was proven in his absence.
Luke Davidson, 26, of Church Road, in Iver, didn’t travel far, but was still fined £153 after admitting being unable to produce a licence on 9 August last year at Farlows Lake. He was ordered to pay another £65 in costs.
Fisheries officers saw 6 anglers were seen fishing illegally at the lake on 28 September. Andrew Barnett, 30, from Lyneside Road, Knypersley, in Staffordshire, received a £190 fine, with costs of £135. Barnett also pleaded guilty.
A couple of them travelled from Kent to Iver to fish without licences. Andy Collins, of Stockdale Gardens in Deal, was fined £95, also paying £135 in costs. Philip Murphy, from Clements Road, in Ramsgate, was fined £220, again with costs of £135. Collins, 36, admitted the charge, but Murphy, also 36, was convicted in his absence….
…while three more illegal anglers were reported to court during the same September patrol at Farlows Lake. Johnnie McKay, 44, of Tamar Drive, Aveley, in Essex, received a fine of £220. He had to also pay costs of £135. His guilt was proven in absence, but 2 other men pleaded guilty to fishing illegally on that day.
Robert Mason, of High Street, Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, and Craig Newell, from Cumberland Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, in East Sussex, admitted fishing without licences. The 27-year-old Mason was fined £187, and Newell, 28, £174. Costs of £135 each were awarded against both anglers.
Kye Jerrom, a senior enforcement officer with the Environment Agency, said:
Fishing licences are great value and less expensive than fines. The income helps with the sustainable management of fisheries. It’s quick, easy and cheap to get a licence by phone and online – search ‘fishing licence’ on gov.uk.
Our fisheries enforcement officers check private lakes, rivers, ponds and canals for illegal fishing, supported by clubs, the Angling Trust and police.
Anyone aged 13 or over needs a licence to fish for salmon, trout, eels or freshwater species. Information on when you need a licence and to buy one are at https://www.gov.uk/fishing-licences/buy-a-fishing-licence. They can also be purchased by phone: 0344 800 5386. Concessions are available.
You have been warned! Over 13s need a valid fishing licence to fish at many locations that is free until they reach 16. They are good value for over 16s - and the money goes back into angling. File pic.
Back in Iver, Luke Page, from Lincolnshire, later admitted illegal fishing at Farlows Lake on 19 October last year, and fined £40. Costs against the 29-year-old, of Heathfield Road, in Grantham, amounted to £135.
Windsor man Thomas Johns-Benjamin was fined £220, having been caught at the same spot on 31 October. His bill for costs reached £135. The 36-year-old, of Pavilions, pleaded guilty, but Danny Smith’s illegal fishing was proven in absence. The 34-year-old, of Northcote Avenue, Wythenshawe, in Greater Manchester, was given a £220 fine, and also told to pay £135 in costs.
Courts ordered the 11 men to pay a total of £774 as victim surcharges, which aim to ensure offenders hold some responsibility towards the cost of supporting victims and witnesses.
The Environment Agency charged the anglers with fishing without a licence under section 27 (1) (a) of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975.
The close season for coarse fishing means angling for those species is prohibited from 15 March to 15 June inclusive every year on rivers, streams, drains and some canals and still waters.
Name, age, address, fine, costs, victim surcharge
- Alfred Ball, 30, of Lasswade Road, Chertsey, Surrey, £220, £135, £88
- Luke Davidson, 26, of Church Road, Iver, Buckinghamshire, £153, £65, £61
- Andrew Barnett, 30, of Lyneside Road, Knypersley, Staffordshire, £190, £135, £76
- Andy Collins, 36, of Stockdale Gardens, Deal, Kent, £95, £135, £38
- Philip Murphy, 36, of Clements Road, Ramsgate, Kent, £220, £135, £88
- Johnnie McKay, 44, of Tamar Drive, Aveley, Essex, £220, £135, £88
- Robert Mason, 27, of High Street, Waddesdon, Buckinghamshire, £187, £135, £74
- Craig Newell, 28, of Cumberland Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, £174, £135, £69
- Luke Page, 29, of Heathfield Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire, £40, £135, £16
- Thomas Johns-Benjamin,44, of Pavilions, Windsor, Berkshire, £220, £135, £88
- Danny Smith, 34, of Northcote Avenue, Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, £220, £135, £88
Totals:
- Fines: £1,939
- Costs: £1,415
- Victim surcharges: £774
A total bill of £4,128 for the 11 anglers, but it should be noted that only the fines are direct penalties for the offences.
All cases were heard at Hastings magistrates’ court in East Sussex.
Contact us:
Journalists only: 0800 141 2743 or e-mail communications.se@environment-agency.gov.uk