Benjamin Pollard, 31, of Langley Road in Leeds, was fined £266 and ordered to pay costs of £127 and a victim surcharge of £34.

He pleaded guilty to fishing without a licence at Humber Magistrates’ Court on February 9.

On 9 July 2021 an Environment Agency Fisheries Enforcement Officer, who was on routine patrol in North Yorkshire, spoke to Pollard, who was found to be fishing without a licence at a popular fishing lake near Malton.

Peter Mischenko, Fisheries Officer for the Environment Agency in Yorkshire, said:

It’s vital that anglers abide by the law to protect the future of the sport and the quality of our rivers and fisheries.

We won’t hesitate to take action to stop illegal fishing and hopefully this will act as a deterrent for any angler thinking of cheating the system.

All money raised from rod licence sales is used to improve fish stocks and fisheries, benefiting anglers and the environment.