Officials at Mactaggart and Mickel Group Ltd were made aware of the badgers’ home following a complaint from a member of the public about working near the sett in 2019.

But this was not taken into account in 2023 when instructing bulldozing work in the area which took place in April of that year and caused badger paths to be flattened, a tunnel to collapse and an entrance to the sett to be blocked by an excavator bucket.

The company also initially failed to carry out an ecology survey to highlight any threat to wildlife on the site despite previous ecology reports on other parts of the same site which had been developed.

Mactaggart and Mickel were fined £4,500 at Falkirk Sheriff Court after the company admitted wildlife charges contrary to the Protection of Badgers Act.

Iain Batho, who leads on wildlife crime for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: “It is the responsibility of building site owners to ensure that due diligence is carried out to prevent the unlawful disturbance of protected wildlife or their habitats.

“Mactaggart and Mickel failed in their duty to take the necessary steps to avoid disturbing a legally protected species. This failure resulted in damage to an active sett, which was home to a number of badgers and nursing cubs.

“COPFS takes offences under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 seriously and action will be taken against individuals or companies where there is sufficient evidence of a crime and where it is in the public interest to do so.”

The court heard how police were first alerted to reports that Mactaggart and Mickel were working near the sett as far back as March 2019 after nearby residents complained.

Officers established the sett had not been damaged at that time and Mactaggart and Mickel were made aware of its location and told not to carry out further works until any risks to the sett had been checked.

In April last year, a local resident was walking his dogs when he saw two badgers and cubs outside the sett, which was identifiable by the large badger spoilheap and fresh bedding which indicated it was home to a large clan.

Four days later, he returned hoping to see the badgers again only to discover the ground had been cleared, trees torn away and a large piece of scrap metal was positioned at the sett blocking the entrance.

Police were again informed and a subsequent investigation by police, Falkirk Council and badger experts confirmed Mactaggart and Mickel had cleared the land beside the location of the sett using heavy machinery in order to create ash pits and dig boreholes, which caused the damage and obstruction.

The court was told Mactaggart and Mickel had employed an engineering firm to organise the architectural site investigation works. That firm, in turn, hired another engineering company to carry out the groundworks but no ecology checks had been done in advance nor recognition taken of the 2019 warning.

Badgers have not returned to the sett.