The incident occurred in July 2021 after a fat blockage in the waste drainage system of Moodiesburn-based Devro Scotland Ltd caused the contents of the effluent pipe to back up.

On reaching a dual manhole, the contents of the waste pipe then spilled over into the surface water pipe.

The surface water pipe, used for the drainage of surface and storm water, flows directly into the Bothlin Burn.

Evidence presented by prosecutors showed that approximately 1.8 million litres of a wastewater containing fat and chemicals flowed into the burn.

This included high levels of ammonia and elevated levels of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD).

Samples taken by officers from the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) found those levels were sufficient to cause short-term gross pollution in the burn and were up to 350 times greater than the environmental quality standard for ammonia and up to 40 times greater than for BOD.

SEPA Ecology surveys concluded that the effects on aquatic life of the Bothlin Burn had been ‘devastating’, causing the deaths of fish and invertebrates.

The contamination provoked multiple calls to Scottish Water and SEPA from members of the public who reported the burn having a milky, opaque appearance and giving off a horrible smell.

The sentence was imposed at Airdrie Sheriff Court after the company pleaded guilty to a breach of water environment legislation. It was also ordered to pay a £3,600 victim surcharge.

Iain Batho, who leads on environmental matters for the Crown Office, said: “This incident was both foreseeable and preventable. Whilst Devro did take certain measures to prevent such an incident occurring, these measures were not sufficient.

“This is now the company’s second conviction involving them polluting the Bothlin Burn.

“This incident had a significant impact on the burn itself and the wildlife within it. It also led to considerable public concern regarding water pollution.”