One of the country's richest men sparked an ecological disaster when he tried to turn an overgrown reservoir on a sprawling Scottish estate into his private fishing pond.
Paul Thwaites' attempt to create a private fishery on his £5.5million estate led to one of the worst pollution incidents ever recorded by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).
Property developer Thwaites, 55 - whose £180million fortune ranks him the 397th richest person in the UK - was charged with polluting an important salmon and trout river.
However, the charge against him was dropped without explanation by the Crown at Perth Sheriff Court on Tuesday as his contractor Richard Philp, pictured above, took the blame for the environmental catastrophe. Thwaites no longer owns the historic Whitehouse of Dunira estate.
Perth Sheriff Court was told that a sub-contractor had simply smashed through the reservoir wall with a digger and caused the water to empty into a tributary and then the River Earn.
As a result, 1,000 tonnes of silt poured into the fresh water and destroyed vital spawning grounds for brown trout, sea trout and salmon. A total of 15 kilometres of river was affected.
The court heard that the full-scale of the ecological impact would not be known for several years, but whole generations of fish could be lost as a direct result.
Fiscal depute Janine Bates said: "As a result of the silt entering the water course substantial damage was caused to recently spawned salmonoids and other marine life.
"The eggs were vulnerable to suspended solids pollution. The smothering of them will have impacted on future numbers. The silt was released into the river at a critical time in the life cycle of the salmonoids.
"The affected length is just over 15 km. Such was the scale of this incident that a clear impact was noted. The pollution was impacting on the River Earn itself.
"The reservoir had been drained of water. The ecology had been severely affected. This is one of the worst incidents SEPA officers in Perth have dealt with."
She told the court that when it was tested the polluted water had 237 times more silt in it than a sample taken from an unaffected part of the river.
Philp, 50, 1 Quiech Court, Milnathort, admitted carrying out a controlled activity likely to cause pollution to the water environment on 17 and 18 March last year.
Solicitor John Bain, defending, said: "This project was his first and last. Things went pear-shaped. Effectively a breach was made and it just got bigger and bigger. He has regretted it ever since. This is attributable to his lack of experience."
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis described the impact as "disastrous" and said it would be significant along a lengthy stretch of the River Earn. He deferred sentence for social background and community service reports.
Last updated: 03 November 2009, 15:12
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