Crime, Dorchester, Eco & Environment | Posted on October 13th, 2025 | return to news

Dorset dairy farm fined for polluting watercourse

Manor Farm at Hilfield Dorchester has been fined £6,000 and will have to pay costs totalling £10,158.50 after being found guilty.

A Dorset dairy farm has been found guilty of polluting a nearby river.

Manor Farm Dairy Ltd of Manor Farm, Hilfield, Dorchester, appeared before Taunton Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 8 October and pleaded guilty to causing a discharge of poisonous, noxious or polluting matter.

They were fined £6,000 and ordered to pay costs totalling £10,158.50. The fine was set at £9,000 but reduced for an early guilty plea.

The court heard that in March 2024, the Environment Agency (EA) received a report of pollution from a member of the public near the village of Leigh, Sherborne. On arrival at Bailey Ridge Lane, the EA officer saw olive-green discolouration in the watercourse that indicated contamination from slurry. Significant amounts of foam were also present on the surface of the stream.

The EA officer followed the watercourse upstream where it was traced to Manor Farm Dairy in Hilfield.

Immediately downstream of Manor Farm’s slurry lagoons, the watercourse appeared to be running clear, however, there was evidence of a ‘tideline’ of slurry having run approximately four feet up both banks where slurry had entered the watercourse, at some force, prior to the EA officer’s arrival.

The exact volume that escaped remains unknown but there was evidence of slurry overflowing from the recipient watercourse prior to entering the culvert on to the adjacent road.

An invertebrate ecology investigation was completed shortly after the incident. This concluded that there was pollution by organic material of the watercourse.

This pollution caused a significant deterioration in water quality with the report concluding the slurry spill had a severe impact for two kilometres, with further impact noticeable four and a half kilometres from the source.

David Womack, senior environment officer, said: “This incident was avoidable. Regulations requiring farmers to be able to securely store a minimum of four months slurry production have been in place since 1991.

“Wetter weather and TB restrictions contributed to larger volumes of slurry being produced in this instance, which is why farmers are advised to regularly look at their slurry stores.

“If they have concerns about not having sufficient capacity, we recommend they contact us. We can give advice on current legislation, help ensure slurry calculations are accurate, and reduce the pollution risk by identifying non-compliant structures.

“If an incident does occur, we would urge those responsible to report it as soon as possible to the Environment Agency. This can help reduce any environmental impact. Incidents can be reported 24hrs a day on 0800 80 70 60.”

Guidance for farmers on appropriate storage is available on the gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/storing-silage-slurry-and-agricultural-fuel-oil.