An 81-year-old retired army colonel has been fined more than £1,000 after destroying the habitat of a protected newt when he had work carried out on his land. John De Benham-Crosswell pleased guilty to damaging the breeding site and home of great crested newts after draining a lake on his property. By law, any work carried out on land which contains the tiny newts has to be carried out in accordance with a licence from Natural England.
De Benham-Crosswell had no valid licence when work on a brickworks site he owns was carried out and damaged the protected species’ habitat at the Selborne Brickworks site in Alton, Hampshire.
Author: Dave Burke
Source: Mail Online
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