A Taranaki farmer's claim that Mother Nature straightened a meandering stream on his property has been rubbished in the New Plymouth District Court.
Colin David Boyd, of Inglewood, is standing trial on eight charges of breaching the Resource Management Act by diverting the Mangatengehu Stream in 2013.
In summing up, the Crown said Mr Boyd's claim that floodwaters straightened a 430m stretch of a meandering stream on his property was fanciful.
It said from its depth and width, the channel could only have been cut by a digger.
Mr Boyd's counsel asked the jury to put aside environmental concerns and consider whether the Crown had proven he cut the channel.
