A FARMER who illegally felled around 200 trees worth an estimated £52,500 as an act of "revenge" in a planning dispute has been fined £112,197.

Keith Smith, 63, of Nant-Y-Ci Road, Ammanford, was found to have cut down the 200-year-old beech trees belonging to an ancient hedgerow at Pen y Fan farm, Manmoel, in and around January 5 of this year.

The court heard that Smith had been living at a nearby Manmoel address when the offences were committed.

Officers from Natural Resources Wales (NRW) launched an investigation and found that no felling licence was in place to remove the trees, which served as a "valuable" habitat for wildlife.

Newport Magistrates Court heard that due to the importance of the land, which contained 200 cubic metres of wood, a licence would never have been considered to remove the trees.

The legal limit of timber allowed to be felled by a landowner over a three month period is five cubic metres.

Prosecutor Muhammed Yaqub said Smith, who failed to appear, had previously rented the land on the farm in from the landowner, David Powell.

Mr Yaqub told the court that when interviewed by NRW officers, Smith admitted to that he and his two adult sons felled the trees without permission but did so at the "request" of a third party.

"He said that he was approached by Bernard Sharp, a representative of the new tenant, Gildemeister, a solar company," he said.

"There was no evidence that he was given permission to chop the trees down.

"The land was being used to install solar panels and the company in fact wanted the trees in place as they provided the perfect screening for the panels."

Smith's allegation was denied by Gildemeister, leading NRW to believe that the tree felling was a "completely deliberate" act for financial gain.

The court heard that it was not possible to legally sell illegally-felled trees, with NRW blocking the timber from entering the open market.

The environmental agency calculated the commercial value of the beech trees - commonly used for firewood - was around £8,000, or £40 per tonne.

The trees' amenity value, using factors such as the age, type, size and location of the trees, was estimated at approximately £44,510 - the equivalent of £542 per tree.

Mr Yaqub told the court that he believed the motive for Smith's actions stemmed from a planning dispute with regards to the land.

"[Smith] had applied to do something on the land and failed to get permission," he said.

"When the solar company put their own plans in for the solar panels, he objected.

"He wasn't able to do what he wanted, and this was a revenge – ‘if I can't have that land, no one else can.’"

Smith had previously failed to appear at court in August but magistrates agreed to approve the case to continue in his absence.

On September 5, NRW found that Smith had relocated to Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, with officers issuing a letter warning the defendant that the case would proceed without him.

The magistrates issued a £105,082 maximum fine and also ordered Smith to pay £6,945 in costs to NRW and the court.

A statement from Tim Jones, executive director for NRW, described the loss of the veteran trees as "devastating" and that it would take many generations for new trees, and a thriving habitat, to grow and recover.

He added: “Like many things in our environment, trees are often taken for granted.

“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.”