Landowner who chopped down protected woodland in 'devastating' loss to the environment is fined just £1,500

A landowner who chopped down a protected woodland in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty has been fined just £1,500.

Jeff Lane, 73, caused a 'devastating loss' to the environment in what was described by Natural Resources Wales as the worst case of illegal tree felling they have seen in 30 years.

Lane will have to pay an £11,000 confiscation order after clearing the forestry in Wales with enough wood to fill 17 articulated lorries.

The first Proceeds of Crime hearing in relation to illegal tree felling in the UK heard the total value of benefit to Lane was £78,614.

Aerial photographs were shown of the eight hectares of native and wet woodland in Gower, Swansea, axed down in 2019.

Lane was found guilty of felling the trees without a license and failing to comply with a notice to restock the trees he chopped down in 2019. He later lost his appeal against both convictions.

The father-of-three, described as 'a man of limited means', was fined £500 for the first offence and £1,000 for the second.

Natural Resources Wales, who took him to court, estimated the cost of restocking the woodland at £52,000.

But Lane told Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court: 'I could do it for a lot cheaper than that - about half that price. I have looked into the cost of saplings and they are quite cheap to be honest.

'There are trees already starting to grow - I don't know what they are.'

Retired mechanic Lane bought the land in 2017 for his daughter to run a pony trekking and alpaca walking business.

He claimed the trees were rotting and dangerous and he was given a license to thin them out, not chop down the entire woodland.

He was advised to stop all felling but in September, 2020, NRW officers received photos taken by the Gower Society, showing an area of wiped out trees.

David Singh, defending, said Lane had no previous convictions and was suffering from poor health.

He said: 'He is unable to pay his mortgage and after paying his car loan and daily living costs he is left with virtually nothing.'

Len's available assets of £17,645 were made up of the equity on his property and the value of his 13-year-old Range Rover which is subject to a finance agreement.

Judge Richard Kember said Lane was guilty of 'criminal conduct' and had gained pecuniary advantage by not complying with the enforcement notice to restock the woodland.

He told the defendant: 'Natural Resources Wales say this is the worst case of tree felling they have ever encountered.

'It wouldn't be going too far to say the woodland has been effectively eradicated.

'You were given a thinning license designed to encourage the habitat to flourish and grow. It is for a reduction, not an eradication.

'This was a blatant exceeding of the permission you had been granted.'

The judge said the fines were 'significantly' lower because of the confiscation order of £11,280.77. Lane was warned he would go to prison for six months if he didn't pay it in full by September 14

Lane, of Lower Fairwood, Swansea, will pay off his fine at the rate of £50-a-month.

Nick Fackrell, senior officer in forest regulation and tree plant health for NRW, said at the time of Lane's conviction: 'This is one of the worst cases of illegal tree felling that NRW has investigated in over 30 years. We carried out a thorough investigation and the evidence was strong that illegal felling activity had taken place.

'The loss of this native and wet woodland is devastating and it will take many generations for new trees to grow to replace them, if they grow at all.

'NRW and the professional forestry sector work incredibly hard to ensure that tree felling takes place in compliance with the Forestry Act and the woodlands that they manage adhere to the UK Forestry Standard.

'Felling licences are part of the system we have in place so we can manage our trees and woodlands effectively, protecting them and making sure they continue to benefit us all now and into the future.'