A pair of anglers will have to fork out hundreds of pounds in fines between them after being separately caught fishing without a licence.

Alfie Furminger, 25, committed the offence at Monk Lakes, near Marden, last year and was found guilty in his absence at court.

Furminger, from Vauxhall, London, was also convicted of a further offence of leaving his fishing rods unattended on November 27 at the same location. He was fined £443, including costs of £135 and a victim surcharge of £88.

In a separate hearing, Anthony Meakins, 24, from Otford Road in Sevenoaks, pleaded guilty to fishing without a licence at Wilderness Lake in East Grinstead, West Sussex on September 10 2022.

He was ordered to pay a total penalty of £96, including costs of £40, and a victim surcharge of £16.

It’s not the first time anglers have been fined for illegally fishing at Monk Lake.

Area fisheries manager at the Environment Agency, Dave Webb, said: “We hope the penalties the illegal anglers have received will act as a deterrent to anyone who is thinking of breaking the laws and byelaws we have in place across England.

“Fishing illegally can incur a fine of up to £2,500 and offenders can also have their fishing equipment seized.

“We inspect rod licences 24/7, 7 days a week to check on cases of illegal fishing and for those caught cheating the system, we will always prosecute.

“Illegal fishing undermines the Environment Agency’s efforts to protect fish stocks and make fishing sustainable.”

Any angler aged 13 or over, fishing on a river, canal or still water needs a licence to fish. A 1-day licence costs from just £6.60, and an annual licence currently costs from just £33, with concessions available. Junior licences are free for 13-16-year-olds.

Licences are available from www.gov.uk/get-a-fishing-licence or by calling the Environment Agency on 0344 800 5386 between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday.

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 and targets known hot-spots and where illegal fishing is reported.

Anyone with information about illegal fishing activities can contact the Environment Agency incident hotline 24/7 on 0800 807060 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Both cases were heard at Hastings Magistrates’ Court.