An econological disaster was sparked by one of the country’s richest men when he tried to turn an overgrown reservoir into a private fishing pond on a sprawling Scottish estate.
Ranked 397th richest person in the UK, property developer Paul Thwaites’ was present in Perth Sheriff Court last week after a sub-contractor smashed through a reservoir wall with a differ, causing water to empty whilst 1,000 tonnes of silt poured into the river and destroyed vital spawning grounds for brown trout and salmon.
Over 15km of river was affected and to our surprise, Thwaites’ was discharged from Court when his contractor, Richard Philp, accepted full responsibility.
Fiscal depute Janine Bates told the court that the econolocial impact would not be known for years, but whole generations of fish could be lost as a direct result.
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