ALMOST a dozen men from as far away as Kent, the Midlands and Manchester, have been fined a total of almost £2,000 for fishing illegally on the Buckinghamshire border.

Ten of the 11 anglers, some also local, were caught at the same location at Farlows Lake in Iver as a result of investigations carried out by fisheries officers from the Environment Agency.

It comes as part of a continued crackdown on illegal fishing by the Agency.

Alfred Ball, of Lasswade Road, Chertsey, in Surrey, was fined £220 for the offence at Black Potts Weir on the Jubilee River at Eton on July 21 last summer. Costs of £135 were awarded against the 30-year-old, whose guilt was proven in his absence.

Luke Davidson, 26, of Church Road, in Iver, didn’t travel far, but was still fined £153 after admitting being unable to produce a licence on 9 August 9 last year at Farlows Lake. He was ordered to pay another £65 in court costs.

Six anglers were seen fishing illegally at the lake on September 28. Andrew Barnett, 30, from Lyneside Road, Knypersley in Staffordshire, received a £190 fine, with costs of £135. Barnett also pleaded guilty.

Two men travelled from Kent to Iver to fish without licences. Andy Collins, of Stockdale Gardens in Deal, was fined £95, also paying £135 in costs. Philip Murphy, from Clements Road, in Ramsgate, was fined £220, again with costs of £135. Collins, 36, admitted the charge, but Murphy, also 36, was convicted in his absence.

Three more illegal anglers were reported to court during the same September patrol at Farlows Lake. Johnnie McKay, 44, of Tamar Drive, Aveley, in Essex, received a fine of £220. He had to also pay costs of £135. His guilt was proven in absence, but two other men pleaded guilty to fishing illegally on that day.

Robert Mason, of High Street, Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, and Craig Newell, from Cumberland Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, in East Sussex, admitted fishing without licences. The 27-year-old Mason was fined £187, and Newell, 28, £174. Costs of £135 each were awarded against both anglers.

Kye Jerrom, a senior enforcement officer with the Environment Agency, said: “Fishing licences are great value and less expensive than fines. The income helps with the sustainable management of fisheries. It’s quick, easy and cheap to get a licence by phone and online – search ‘fishing licence’ on gov.uk.

“Our fisheries enforcement officers check private lakes, rivers, ponds and canals for illegal fishing, supported by clubs, the Angling Trust and police.”

Back in Iver, Luke Page, from Lincolnshire, later admitted illegal fishing at Farlows Lake on October 19, last year, and fined £40. Costs against the 29-year-old, of Heathfield Road, in Grantham, amounted to £135.

Windsor man Thomas Johns-Benjamin was fined £220, having been caught at the same spot on October 31. His bill for costs reached £135. The 36-year-old, of Pavilions, pleaded guilty, but Danny Smith’s illegal fishing was proven in absence. The 34-year-old, of Northcote Avenue, Wythenshawe, in Greater Manchester, was given a £220 fine, and also told to pay £135 in costs.

Courts ordered the 11 men to pay a total of £774 as victim surcharges, which aim to ensure offenders hold some responsibility towards the cost of supporting victims and witnesses. The fines all together totalled £1,939 and total court costs were £1,415.

The Environment Agency charged the anglers with fishing without a licence under section 27 of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975.

The close season for coarse fishing means angling for those species is prohibited from March 15 to June 15 inclusive every year on rivers, streams, drains and some canals and still waters.

All cases were heard at Hastings magistrates’ court in East Sussex.

Full breakdown of fines:

• Alfred Ball, 30, of Lasswade Road, Chertsey, Surrey, £220

• Luke Davidson, 26, of Church Road, Iver, Buckinghamshire, £153

• Andrew Barnett, 30, of Lyneside Road, Knypersley, Staffordshire, £190

• Andy Collins, 36, of Stockdale Gardens, Deal, Kent, £95

• Philip Murphy, 36, of Clements Road, Ramsgate, Kent, £220

• Johnnie McKay, 44, of Tamar Drive, Aveley, Essex, £220

• Robert Mason, 27, of High Street, Waddesdon, Buckinghamshire, £187

• Craig Newell, 28, of Cumberland Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, £174

• Luke Page, 29, of Heathfield Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire, £40

• Thomas Johns-Benjamin,44, of Pavilions, Windsor, Berkshire, £220

• Danny Smith, 34, of Northcote Avenue, Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, £220