A farmer has been ‘sanctioned’ after he illegally abstracted water from a brook days before a drought status was declared.

The firm which employs the farmer, Strutt and Parker Ltd, has admitted breaching environmental laws and has made a £25,000 donation to the Essex Wildlife Trust as a result.

It runs a farm of Whitbread Farm Lane in Chatham Green, Chelmsford, and has a licence allowing it to abstract water from Beaumont Brook, downstream of Hamford Water, between November 1 and March 31.

Due to dry weather in 2019, the farm manager applied for an extension to the licence until April 30, 2019, which the Environment Agency granted.

However, during an Environment Agency inspection on May 10, it was found that water was still being abstracted.

A notice was attached to the pump to notify the operator that the Environment Agency was investigating.

Following this, the farm manager emailed the Environment Agency to seek a further extension to the licence to avoid sanctions.

An investigation found that 420m3 of water had been abstracted outside the terms of the licence but no environmental harm was caused in this instance.

Strutt and Parker accepted a breach of licence and said the farm manager had acted ‘unacceptably against clear company policy and procedure’.

He has since been sanctioned by the firm.

Strutt and Parker (Farms) Ltd offered an enforcement undertaking, which the Environment Agency accepted due to the company's full co-operation with the case, the lack of environmental harm and the measures taken to prevent a reoccurrence of the incident.

Environment Agency officer, Gavin Senior, said: “Enforcement undertakings are voluntary offers made by companies and individuals to make amends for breaching environmental regulations.

"When appropriate, they allow a better resolution for the environment than a prosecution as they require action to put things right in a way that directly benefits the environment and local communities."

The amount offered to Essex Wildlife Trust as part of an enforcement undertaking offer is said to be one of the largest ever donations in a water resources case.

The money will go towards three projects; wetland restorations at Fobbing Marsh and Blue House Farm, and a nature nursery at Abbots Hall Farm.

Strutt and Parker has also invested in new farm management software and personnel as part of an overhaul of their management system.

Additional training and regular meetings between staff and senior managers will also be set up to ensure procedures are being followed.