Vegetable supplier fires worker caught urinating in crop field but says that it's actually good for the plants

TH Clements supply Tesco with Brassica vegetables

( Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

A farm worker at a food supplier for supermarket Tesco has been sacked after being filmed urinating in a field.

The worker is reported to have been photographed standing casually in the middle of the field of crops urinating on to the plants, despite a toilet apparently being only 18 metres away.

The incident was filmed by a member of the public who alerted TH Clements & Son, which owns the field in Benington, Lincolnshire and the worker was sacked with immediate effect.

A spokesman for the company said to The Mirror: “We terminated the services of the individual worker as he failed to follow company procedures which request that all workers use the toilets provided.

“Despite the fact that a toilet was less than 18 metres away from him, he decided to urinate in the field rather than use the toilet.

“Although he did not urinate on the crops, this does not excuse him from his actions.”

The spokesman added that “Urine is virtually sterile when it leaves the human body, it does not carry any bacteria, it has used by avid growers for years as it is very high in nitrogen.”

The member of public who apparently caught the incident on camera and wished to be unnamed told the Daily Mail: “It was disgusting. It wants stopping.”

TH Clements grows vegetables on more than 9,000 acres of land across Lincolnshire and Cornwall and has more than 150 years of experience in the Brassica industry.

Tesco put out a statement that said: “We work closely with our suppliers to make sure all the products we sell are of the highest quality.

“All our vegetables go through an extensive assessment and review process before they reach our shelves.

“We are working with our supplier to make sure all the right processes are in place for the future.”