JUDGE John Griffith Williams imposed a £100,000 fine on Monmouthshire council yesterday - 18 months after horrified residents complained about the way sheep were being culled in a Gilwern field.

Cardiff crown court heard that the foot-and-mouth crisis was at its height on April 11 last year and, after a spate of outbreaks in Monmouthshire, the council had hired butcher Adrian Walker to cull strays.

Police had reported a flock of stray sheep wandering near Gilwern. The court heard yesterday that Mr Walker attended and shot sheep at a distance of more than 30 metres. Although Mr Walker was cleared of breaching health and safety regulations at a Cardiff crown court trial earlier this month, the authority had pleaded guilty to two breaches.

Sentencing the council, Judge John Griffith Williams said: "I am satisfied that Mr Walker was not sufficiently qualified to shoot animals in the open. At the very least council officials should have been on hand to observe the proceedings.

"There was only one way to safely kill those sheep and that was to pen them first." The judge said that the council had failed in its duty to protect the public, police and their employee by failing to formulate a proper policy of killing animals.

He added that they should have penned the animals and employed a marksman with sufficient experience.

After he was cleared, Mr Walker said his concern throughout had been "safety, safety, safety", and added: "I didn't fire indiscriminately at any time".

It had been claimed he should not have agreed to take on the job and that the council should not have employed him.

But Mr Walker told the jury that, after being interviewed by the council: "I couldn't see them appointing anyone else to do the job," and described himself as "very proficient". He said he had bought the rifle on advice from the then Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. He also told the court that he was familiar with the field concerned and believed police had closed off roads and warned residents.

The judge said: "It should have been blindingly obvious that a marksman who did not own a .22 rifle was not properly experienced in its use under such circumstances.

"I take into account the council's early guilty pleas and I accept that this was an isolated incident. I am confident that the council will not repeat their mistakes."

Regarding the size of the fine on a "publicly funded body" the judge said: "The fine must reflect public concern and act as a warning to others."

The council was also ordered to pay costs of £8,360.

PICTURED: The incident, caught on video, which horrified Gilwern residents.