A HEREFORDSHIRE farmer who was jailed after controversially bulldozing a riverbank has allegedly lost tens of thousands of pounds to an agricultural machinery scam.

Kingsland farmer John Price told Farmers Weekly that he had lost £39,000 after falling for a combine harvester con. He apparently believed he was purchasing a Claas Lexion 570 combine from Braydestone Farms in Norfolk after seeing an advert in the farming press.

After making a £70,000 deal for the vehicle over the phone, Mr Price sent the seller a £39,000 deposit.

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According to the magazine, the farmer’s secretary became wary of the transaction after the seller demanded that the final payment should be sent to a different bank account connected to a jeweller in Liverpool.

Farmers Weekly said Mr Price has not received or even seen the combine harvester, with the alleged fraudsters reportedly coming up with false justifications as to why his purchase has not arrived.

Both Mr Price and Guy Gowing, owner of the legitimate Braydestone Farms, have reportedly gone to Action Fraud about the issue.

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This comes only four months after Mr Price was released from prison, having served less than three months of a 12-month sentence for damaging parts of the river Lugg, which was later reduced to a 10-month sentence on appeal.

The farmer used heavy machinery including bulldozers and excavators to dredge and reprofile a 1.5km stretch of the Lugg at Kingsland, destroying the riverbed and banks.

The works were in breach of several regulations, and in a Site of Special Scientific Interest, which persisted despite Price being issued with a stop notice.

After undergoing a rigorous risk assessment, Mr Price was freed under the condition that he adhered to a strict ‘home detention curfew’.