Before-and-after photos from Herefordshire, England, show how nature’s beauty has returned to a riverside previously obliterated by a local farmer.
The farmer used an 18-ton digger to dredge a section of the River Lugg near Leominster, and stripped every tree from a mile-long stretch of one of Britain’s most important salmon rivers.
He was jailed for 12 months in 2023 by a judge who told him he had committed “ecological vandalism on an industrial scale” along a section of the riverbank back in 2020.
A court heard how he illegally removed tons of gravel from the riverbed to build a road and a horse yard at his home while also tearing out 71 trees.
He had claimed he had done so to help protect locals in the nearby hamlet whose homes were devastated by flooding, but it led to a “devastating” effect on local wildlife, which has only started to recover six years later.
However, photos taken in 2020 and at the same location this week show the drastically transformed landscape around parts of the river.
New trees, bushes, and greenery are growing back.
“Some of the new natural regeneration that is happening is one positive to take from it.
“If you let Mother Nature flourish, she will work her magic.
“The amount of gravel taken just to build a road was shocking,” said environmental designer Richard Fishbourne.
“It can take decades to build up this wonderful community of species and habitat.”
“It’s really important to have a mix of biodiversity in this space, but it’s going to take a long time.”
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Monitoring by Britain’s Environment Agency and Natural England confirms the river’s condition is improving—with trout, bullhead and minnows present, alongside key indicator species such as kingfishers and sand martins,” said Emma Johnson, West Midlands deputy director for Natural England.
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Although the habitats of “iconic wildlife” such as otters and salmon had been destroyed along the 1.5 kilometer stretch of river, local supporters of the farmer, John Price, claimed that he had simply done what generations of farmers before him had done.
He was found guilty of seven offenses and ordered to pay £600,000. Additionally he was ordered to re-plant trees and restore the riverbed and bank.
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