A company in Lincolnshire has been ordered to pay £24,000 for polluting a local watercourse.

A Hughes & Son (Skellingthrope) Ltd pleaded guilty to a breach of Environmental Permitting Regulations for allowing effluent to flow into a watercourse.

That resulted in high levels of ammonia in the water, according to the Environment Agency.

Lincoln Magistrates’ Court heard the company, which runs a rendering plant on site to process animal by-products into protein meal, had been negligent and failed to take reasonable care to prevent the pollution from occurring.

The case was brought by the Environment Agency following a report of suspected pollution in September 2013.

Environment Officer Alice Calton said: “We hope that this prosecution will send a clear message to other companies and operators that poor practice is unacceptable and they must have suitable site management to prevent pollution incidents.

“High levels of ammonia can have a detrimental effect on fish and other aquatic life, affecting their food, breeding or even poisoning them. Pollution like this can have devastating effects on the watercourse and it is essential that all care is taken to prevent this type of incident.”