Kieran Hall, 29, of Saturn Road, Stoke, admitted the offences at Northampton magistrates on 1 August 2022.

He was fined £146 for fishing without a licence and a further £146 for failing to give his name and address when asked. He was also ordered to pay £135 costs and a £34 victim’s surcharge.

The offences took place on 12 March 2022 when Hall was fishing at Holden Lane Pool, Milton, near Hanley, Staffordshire.

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said:

This case shows we will pursue offenders through the courts and won’t hesitate to take enforcement action where anglers break rules.

This offender did not have a valid licence, but he was also unhelpful when questioned by our officers.

We will not tolerate abusive behaviour towards our officers who routinely undertake licence checks, and we urge anyone with information about illegal fishing to contact us on 0800 807060.

Background information

All anglers need a valid Environment Agency rod licence.

The money raised through the sales of rod licences is re-invested back into the sport and illegal fishing undermines the Environment Agency’s efforts to make fishing sustainable.

Anyone found fishing illegally may face prosecution and a fine of up to £2,500.

The Environment Agency carries out enforcement work all year round and is supported by partners including the police and the Angling Trust.

Fisheries enforcement work is intelligence-led, targeting known hot-spots and where illegal fishing is reported.

Any angler aged 13 or over, fishing on a river, canal or still water needs a licence.

A 1 day licence costs from just £6 and an annual licence costs from just £30 (concessions available). Junior licences are free for 13 to 16 year olds.

Licences are available to purchase online or by calling the Environment Agency on 0344 800 5386 between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday.

School children from Waverley Junior Academy, near Rotherham, have combined science with art to create a fusion energy machine of the future.

Year 5 students took part in two workshops to learn about fusion – based on the same processes that powers the sun and stars – which has great potential to become an environmentally responsible part of the world’s future energy supply.

Before taking to their pens and pencils to design a star-making machine, the students discovered what fusion is and let-off steam by running around to create energy of their own.

The fun and interactive sessions were delivered by a team from the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) based at the neighbouring technology park in Catcliffe.

Jordan d‘Arras, graduate development engineer at UKAEA, said: “The children were really enthusiastic and asked so many good questions. They learned the importance of safe, low carbon energy in the fight against climate change and heard about the variety of career opportunities we have at UKAEA that will help make fusion happen. We hope to have inspired our engineers, scientists and communicators of the future!”

The students went head-to-head in a design competition and impressed the UKAEA team with their interpretation of what a future fusion energy machine could look like.

Waverley Junior Academy’s Year 5 teachers, Patrick Selkirk and Holly Peace, were very proud of the scientific knowledge and artistic talent of their classes.

Patrick said: “It was a great experience for the children to fully engage with. They had previously learnt all about renewable energy and the effects of non-renewable sources. The UKAEA workshop was enlightening and well-pitched to the children. The workshop began conversations that sparked debate about fusion energy.”

Based on the same process that powers our sun and the stars, fusion has long been considered the ultimate energy source:

• When a mix of two forms of hydrogen (deuterium and tritium) are heated to extreme temperatures (10 times hotter than the core of the sun) they fuse together to create helium and release vast amounts of energy in the form of heat.

• This superheated material forms a plasma, the fourth state of matter found in lightning and neon signs. Plasma has incredibly complex, but fascinating, physics akin to weather systems, and predicting its behaviour is just as difficult.

• There is more than one way of achieving fusion. At UKAEA, we hold this hot plasma using strong magnets in a doughnut-shaped machine called a tokamak.
• The energy created from fusion can generate electricity similar to existing power stations.

For further information about UKAEA’s fusion technology facility in Rotherham, visit: ccfe.ukaea.uk

Levelling up was top of the agenda as UK Government Minister for Scotland Iain Stewart visited innovative island businesses and community projects on a five-day visit to Skye, Lewis and Harris, ahead of the inaugural Islands Forum later this year.

Starting his visit in Skye, Minister Stewart met with the Staffin Community Trust and local fishermen to discuss plans to redevelop Staffin Harbour and consider ways the UK Government could support the project. He then headed to Skye’s largest town, Portree, to host a roundtable discussion with representatives from local community groups, where he invited views on how levelling up could enhance the area.

The Minister then made his way to Harris where he paid a visit to the Harris Distillery. He enjoyed hearing about how the island-based enterprise has grown through training and employing young people from the local area, meaning they don’t have to leave the island for work.

In Lewis, Minister Stewart’s busy itinerary included meeting Comhairle nan Eilean Siar – Western Isles Council – to talk about how levelling up could benefit the local community. He visited the headquarters of Gaelic Media Service MG Alba to learn about how they are creating premium Gaelic language content, and also paid a visit to Charles Macleod butchers, makers of the world-renowned Stornoway Black Pudding, to discuss their success in exporting from the island.

He also met with Lewis-based Horshader Community Trust, a charity taking forward green initiatives including decarbonising transport and nurturing trees to create woodland. The trust has received more than £70,000 from the Community Renewal Fund to help local residents gain new skills, support the development of two green projects, and work with business partners to strengthen the island’s renewable energy sector.

Minister Iain Stewart said:

It was a pleasure to visit Skye, Lewis and Harris. From discussing plans to regenerate Staffin Harbour, to seeing how the Horshader Community Trust is making Lewis more sustainable, to hearing how the Harris Distillery is supporting jobs for young people, it’s clear these islands have talent, innovation and resourcefulness in droves.

It’s also clear that the Islands Growth Deal and investment through the UK Government’s Levelling Up Funds are making a real difference in these places, for the benefit of people who live here.

However, while our island communities have unique strengths, they also face unique challenges. Infrastructure, transport and depopulation are issues that islands often have to contend with, and must be addressed for our rural areas to truly thrive.

The Islands Forum was set up to discuss these problems. It will give a platform for those who understand remote communities and their needs best, putting islands at the heart of our Levelling Up agenda which has so far resulted in more than £2 billion being invested directly in Scottish projects.

The UK Government’s first Islands Forum will take place in Orkney later this year. The forum will put islands at the heart of the Levelling Up agenda, with island communities across the UK invited to discuss common challenges including connectivity, infrastructure and demographic trends.