A Bradford businessman has been fined £50,000 for his part in one of the worst environmental disasters in West Yorkshire for 15 years.
A devastating chemical spill from a premises owned by Adam Khan, 43, of Sandford Road, Barkerend, entered the River Holme near Huddersfield polluting the river and killing hundreds of fish in December 2005.
Bradford Crown Court was told yesterday that hundreds of fish including brown trout and grayling were killed when highly-toxic detergent got into the river via a drain on a nearby industrial unit.
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The Environment Agency was alerted to the spillage by a fisherman who had discovered the dead fish in the Queen's Mill Road area.
The court heard that with his help an official was able to trace the source of the pollution to a unit owned by Khan's business Dr Clean (UK) Ltd on the Queen's Mill Road Industrial Estate.
When questioned about the incident in March 2006 Khan told investigators that the business was shutting down and he had arranged for surplus detergent to be taken away on a truck by some travellers.
Khan said that he had not been on site at the time of the spillage but said an employee later told him that a lorry carrying the detergent had spilled a quantity down a nearby drain.
Khan, a 43-year-old father-of-two, pleaded guilty on behalf of Dr Clean (UK) Ltd and himself to two charges of causing pollution to enter the river.
Prosecutor Diana Maudslay told Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC that more than 700 fish had been killed by the leak.
'The low number of survivors suggests the brown trout population will be unable to recover naturally,'' she said.
'The position in respect of the grayling is unclear. Nearly all the brown trout downstream of the incident have been lost. Other species are likely to recover in the long term.'' Khan's barrister Neil Murphy said Khan, a former test pilot who has an interest in a property company, had admitted the offence on the basis that he failed to carry out a proper risk assessment before the containers of detergent were removed.
Judge Durham Hall said the river environment had been catastrophically affected by the incident and the effect on the flora and fauna had been utterly disastrous.
He said the public would be outraged if the court did not impose a serious penalty on the defendant for what he described as a "serious" and "crass" failure.
The judge described Khan's attitude to the removal of the detergent as 'cavalier'' and he added: 'The offence was a reckless breach of the law.
'The defendant was acting from a financial motive. Giving away this toxic material in order to save himself the trouble and his company the cost.
'He neglected to put in place any sensible or appropriate preventative measures or to give any thought to seeking advice or assistance.'' Judge Durham Hall said the river environment had been catastrophically affected by the incident and the effect on the flora and fauna had been utterly disastrous.
'The public who are keen and acutely aware of the need to protect their heritage and that of their children would be outraged if the court did not, in order to punish such a serious and crass failure, impose a suitable, sensible and deterrent financial penalty,'' he said.
Khan was also ordered to pay £5,000 towards the costs of the prosecution and he must pay the total sum of fine and costs within a year.
Khan would face up to 18 months in jail if he fails to pay the fine.
After the case, Max Folkett, of the Environment Agency, said: "This was one of the most serious pollution incidents to occur in the West Yorkshire area for the last 15 years, and caused a lot of damage to the watercourse and wildlife.
"It's crucial that when businesses are handling strong chemicals that they do so carefully. Spills like this can have serious consequences for the environment.
"We will not hesitate to take the appropriate action in pollution cases, and ultimately the consequences can extend to court hearings and sentences, resulting in large financial penalties."
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