Riley Foods Limited, a Burnley-based slaughterhouse, has been fined £17,000 and ordered to pay £34,365 in costs. The sentencing followed a prosecution by the Environment Agency after the company was found guilty of illegally polluting a nearby watercourse with blood.

The case began following a report on 23 February 2021 of blood entering a stream next to the company’s premises at Dunnockshaw Farm.

Environment Agency officers attended the site the following day alongside representatives from United Utilities. Investigations confirmed that the pollution was not caused by United Utilities’ sewer infrastructure but instead originated from a private drainage system at Riley Foods Limited.

Evidence gathered showed effluent, including blood, entering the watercourse from a pipe connected to th

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