A YEAR ago a Herefordshire farmer was jailed for laying waste to a wildlife-rich riverbank.

John Price, now aged 69, was jailed for 12 months for his environmental crimes at the river Lugg, though his sentence was later reduced to 10 months on appeal, and he actually served fewer than three months.

He claimed he had razed what had been described as an “enchanting tree-lined reach” to alleviate flooding – despite experts saying he had increased rather than lessened the risk.

But in the months since, a view has taken root among some that Price is a local hero whose destruction of a natural habitat has been effective in safeguarding homes.

This is despite the Herefordshire riverbank that was stripped bare remaining largely devoid of life three-and-a-half years later.

The Hereford Times asked readers whether they would consider John Price a hero. Here are the results:


 

What are your thoughts?

You can send a letter to the editor to have your say by clicking here.

Letters should not exceed 250 words and local issues take precedence.

Our poll received 10,696 votes and showed 86 per cent of Hereford Times readers think John Price's actions were wrong.

Fourteen per cent said they thought he did the right thing for the community.

Our original poll can be found here.

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There is support for Price in his home village of Kingsland, with locals saying "Johnny has done a good job" and "It looks very tidy now".

But when the Hereford Times pushed the Environment Agency for a response on what appear to be ill-informed perceptions about Price's destruction of the Lugg, our questions went largely unanswered.

It remains unclear either if Mr Price’s activity with his bulldozer has alleviated, worsened or had no effect on flooding.