Nine anglers caught fishing without rod licences in South Devon have been ordered to pay more than £1,000 in fines and costs. The prosecutions were brought by the Environment Agency.
The offenders were caught by Agency officers carrying out routine patrols at a various lakes and ponds including Rackerhayes Ponds at Newton Abbot.
One of the licence dodgers, Derek Crank, received a hefty penalty (£340 in fines and costs) after giving officers a false name and address. Crank, from Doncaster, was caught fishing without a licence at Cofton Farm near Dawlish on September 6, 2006.
Another angler, David Croxford, from Brentford, Essex, was also ‘reeled in’ at Cofton Farm on October 6, 2006 after Agency officers visited the site and he was unable to produce a valid licence. He was fined £50 and ordered to pay £35 costs.
Christopher Perry, of Peryam Crescent, Exeter, was fined £50 with £25 costs for fishing without a rod licence at Rackerhayes Ponds on April 29, 2006. Joseph Russell, of Sandpath Road, Kingsteignton, received a 6-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £35 costs after he was caught without a licence at nearby Saw Mills Pond, Kingsteignton.
Another Rackerhayes offender was Nicholas Lovett, of Ramshill Road, Paignton, who was fined £100 and ordered to pay £70 costs for fishing without a licence on October 1, 2006. William Kerslake, from Weston-super-Mare, collected a fine of £75 with £35 costs for fishing illegally at Hazelwood Park on August 20, 2006.
Also prosecuted were Stephen Rigby, David Crossman and Kevin Douglas who were caught illegally fishing at Home Farm, Mamhead. Rigby, from Eccles, Manchester and Crossman, from Combe St Nicholas, Somerset, were each fined £50 and ordered to pay £35 costs. The offences were committed on October 26, 2006 and August 31, 2006 respectively. Kevin Douglas received a 6-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £35 costs after he told magistrates he didn’t know he needed a licence.
All nine cases were heard by Newton Abbot magistrates. The total amount payable in fines and costs is £1,020.
‘There is no excuse for fishing without a licence. The present charges represent excellent value for money. Income from rod licence sales is used to improve and maintain fisheries, so everyone benefits,’ said Martin Williams for the Environment Agency.
One of the easiest ways to buy or renew your rod licence is by Direct Debit 08708 506 506 or online at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/rodlicence Alternatively they can be purchased at any Post Office in England and Wales or by calling 0870 166 2662. The costs of a full coarse and trout licence for 2007/08 is £24.50. Concession £12.25 and Junior £5.00.
