Three fined over fishing elvers

Three Bridgwater men caught fishing for elvers with illegal nets were ordered to pay £4,509 in fines and costs.

Environment Agency officials found Paul Squire fishing with an illegal fixed net on the River Parrett at Bridgwater.

Squire, of Chilton Street in the Somerset town was fined £700 and ordered to pay £925 costs.

Paul Meare, of Osborne Road was fined £525 and ordered to pay £847 costs. Steven Riddle, of Penzoy Avenue, was fined £525 with £987 costs.

All three men had nets and equipment seized at the time of the offences and, hearing the cases on Thursday, Bridgwater magistrates ordered these to be destroyed.

In his summing up the magistrate told the fishermen they were lucky not to be banned from elver fishing, adding if they were caught again a very heavy fine would be imposed.

Richard Dearnley of the Environment Agency said: "Illegal fishing damages eel stocks, is detrimental to the environment and unfair to law-abiding fishermen."