Chemical company Dow Chemical in Terneuzen has been fined €1.8m for environmental crimes by a court in Middelburg.

The court found the company responsible for a string of incidents between 2005 and 2008 which presented a danger to both the population and the environment, news agency ANP reports.

The public prosecution department had called for a €5m fine. The court imposed the lower penalty because there have been fewer incidents in recent years and the case has taken so long to come to court, ANP says.