JAILED farmer John Price is today appearing before the crown court to appeal his sentence.

The Kingsland farmer was sentenced on April 20 to 12 months in prison by a district judge at Kidderminster Magistrates' Court.

He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £600,000 and disqualified from being a director of a limited company for three years.

A Restoration Order under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 was also imposed requiring Price to carry out a number of actions to restore the river.

It was announced at his sentencing that he would be appealing, with the hearing before a crown court judge sitting at Hereford Justice Centre expected to last all day today (May 5).

The sentence is the result of legal action launched last year by Natural England and the Environment Agency after an investigation into environmental harm caused by work carried out by Price in 2020 and 2021.

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The 68-year-old used heavy machinery including bulldozers and excavators to dredge and reprofile a 1.5km stretch of the Lugg at Kingsland, Herefordshire, destroying the riverbed and banks.

The works were in breach of several regulations, and in a Site of Special Scientific Interest, which persisted despite Price being issued with a stop notice.

Speaking after the verdict, Emma Johnson, area manager for Natural England, said Price had caused "wanton destruction", while Martin Quine, Environment Agency place manager for Herefordshire said that while Price's justification for the works was to help prevent flooding to local properties, his actions did not have any flood prevention benefit.

His sentence has been questioned by others, however, with North Herefordshire MP Bill Wiggin saying he should not have been jailed, and a petition launched in support of the farmer.